During her resi­d­en­cy at Off the Grid, Asma will dee­pen her research into con­nec­ti­on, free­dom of move­ment, and digi­tal alie­na­ti­on. She aims at explo­ring the inter­net as both a spa­ce of access and a site of dis­con­nec­ti­on: a tool that once ope­ned the world to her, but now acts as a bar­ri­er bet­ween herself and her home. 

“I think of my cousins, scrol­ling through TikTok in search of esca­pe, yet still held in pla­ce by the invi­si­ble bor­ders of our vil­la­ge. Or my Syrian friend’s WhatsApp fami­ly chat, attemp­ting to coo­r­di­na­te a see­min­gly impos­si­ble reu­nion across continents.”

Her pro­ject begins with a docu­men­ta­ry impul­se and evol­ves into a research-dri­ven, humor-infu­sed instal­la­ti­on. She intends the work to take new forms that step away from the ​“Realness” of the inspi­ring events. Instead of repro­du­cing rea­li­ty as it is, she wants to reima­gi­ne the­se lived moments; to bend memo­ry toward play, poe­try, and fric­ti­on. It builds on Why Did You Leave the Cat Alone?, a col­la­bo­ra­ti­ve per­for­man­ce-instal­la­ti­on she is devel­o­ping this sum­mer at Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. That pro­ject explo­res dis­pla­ce­ment, soli­tu­de, and resi­lien­ce, and it will ser­ve as a depar­tu­re point for exa­mi­ning neocolonialism’s pre­sen­ce in digi­tal space.

Her Off the Grid resi­d­en­cy focu­ses on wan­de­ring, pathfin­ding, and flâ­ne­rie reso­na­ting dee­ply with her inte­rest in free­dom of move­ment and its limita­ti­ons both onli­ne and in public space. 

“My work often ques­ti­ons who gets to move, speak, or belong, espe­ci­al­ly in digi­tal and urban envi­ron­ments sha­ped by invi­si­ble bor­ders, sur­veil­lan­ce, and sys­te­mic bias. As an artist wor­king across dis­ci­pli­nes, I enga­ge with casu­al, embo­died moments: meme con­cepts, group chats, inter­rup­ted voi­ce calls, play­ful detours as sites of exis­ting, con­nec­ting and resisting.”