In the framework of the research project « Invisible Women, Invisible Workers« , Katharina Grüneisl, geographer at the University of Nottingham, conducted ethnographic fieldwork with garment workers in the Al Hassan industrial zone in Jordan. Located in the north of the country, this secluded clothing production site remains largely unknown to locals. Yet almost 30,000 people live and labour in the zones’ clothing factories, sewing sportswear for export to the U.S. market under the Jordan-US free trade agreement. The industrial zone was first established through preferential trade agreements between the United States, Jordan, and Israel in 1996, which aimed to promote regional economic integration and Jordan’s insertion into the global clothing value chain. Today, clothing producers based in Al Hassan heavily rely on migrant workers, predominantly women who are recruited from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and other South Asian countries, as well as from Madagascar. Depending on order volumes, these workers spend up to 16 hours a day working in the factories.

In June 2024 and April 2025, David Lagarde accompanied Katharina Grüneisl to develop a sonic rendering of the industrial zone that offers a glimpse into the daily lives of textile workers confined between dormitories and factories. The album « Soundscapes of Global Production » invites listeners into the Al Hassan industrial zone – tightly monitored and closed to visitors – to hear the deafening concerts of sewing machines that mark the rhythm of factory workdays. The calls of street vendors and the diverse melodies rising from the industrial zone’s streets highlight the cosmopolitan character of this place, where a hybrid language blending English, Arabic, Hindi, and Bengali is spoken. The electromagnetic waves emanating from phone calls and money transfers reveal the multi-layered connections between the industrial zone’s residents and their loved ones spread across the planet.

This artistic research project also resulted in the development of an interactive virtual map that draws the viewer into immersive clips combining sounds from the album with illustrations by Mélanie Forné, who worked with the team on-site in Al Hassan in April 2025. To explore our interactive sound map, simply follow this link.

This work was made possible through the support of UKRI (Future Leaders Fellowship – grant ref MR/W013797/1) through the project « Invisible Women, Invisible Workers » (University of Nottingham) and the French National Research Agency (ANR) through the project « Le grand entrepôt » (Aix-Marseille University and Maison Française d’Oxford).