Asem Kamal

Asem Kamal Artist and Documentation Fellow | Giza, Egypt

I am a YouTuber and maker from Giza, Egypt. I hold a Fine Arts degree, but I often

say I graduated from the University of YouTube—where curiosity and trial-anderror

shaped my creative path. My work explores storytelling through craft. I create

both long-format videos that aim to engage deeply, and short-form content that’s designed

for quick, often endless consumption—the kind that feeds our chronically online habits.

While this job gives me immense creative freedom, I’ve started to question my role in

that loop. At WARP Wood, I wanted to step away from the screen and re-engage with

storytelling through physical making. As the Documentary Artist Fellow, I built a wooden

flipbook machine—a hand-cranked device that plays looping, one-second video portraits

of each artist in their element, frame by frame.The project merges my filmmaking/animation

background with a desire to slow time down, reconnect with process, and reflect on the

mechanics of attention.

This residency reminded me that making by hand isn’t just about tools or materials—

it’s about how we choose to pay attention. For me, the flipbook machine wasn’t just

a documentation tool, but a quiet protest against brain rot and passive scrolling. A

way to invite focus, presence, and physical rhythm back into the way we tell stories.