Biography

Born in a cabin without electricity in the remote mountains of northern California, Levi Hammett developed a deep interest in geographic space together with the concept and process of location. Raised in a blue collar family he worked as a sign painter and carpenter before pursuing a formal education in design focusing on coding and automation. This background developed into a creative practice that uses computational processes to inform the creation of hybrid design objects incorporating digital technologies that are rooted in traditions of craft.
His work includes a series of hand-made Islamic carpets that explore the urban culture of the Arabian Peninsula, a kinetic installation using 40 printers suspended from the ceiling outputting typography and imagery scraped from the web, and a series of digital displays imagining alternative histories of Arabic typography.

His work has been acquired by several notable individuals and institutions, including the private collection of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. His work has been published in print and online collections, distributed as digital applications, and exhibited in Asia, Europe, the Middle-East, South America, and the United States.
In 2019 Levi co-founded xLab,¹a non-hierarchical research & development studio working to produce electronic art, curricula, and hardware+software based tools to extend creative practice. Levi Hammett received his MFA in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2006.² Currently, he is an Associate Professor and Inaugural Director of Kinetic Imaging at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar where he teaches a range of classes which explore computational art, the design of graphic products, and culturally constructive design.

1. Hammett, Levi., et. al. xLab (studio for) {new = making + computation}. Funded by the Institute for Creative Research, VCUarts Qatar, Doha, Qatar. 2019. link

2. Hammett, Levi. Deliberate removal : creating space for participation. 2006. 224 pages : illus. (chiefly color) ; 22 cm. GRAPH 2006 .H36

Levi Hammett

Selected Works

882 Million Kilometers

Levi
Hammett

Selected
Works