tarek atoui
1980, Beirut, Lebanon
Tarek Atoui is an artist and electro-acoustic composer working within the realm of sound performance and composition. His work challenges traditional ways of perceiving sound, exploring how it can be experienced through senses other than hearing and how materials such as water, air, stone and bronze absorb and return it. He focuses on the medium’s ability to act as a catalyst for human interaction, and on its relation to social, historical and political realities. Atoui’s projects stem from extensive research into music history, anthropology and instrumentation, and often unfold over several years in collaboration with musicians, instrument makers, engineers and communities. He engineers complex and inventive instruments, and arranges concerts, performances, listening rooms and workshops in which improvisation plays a central role.
WITHIN, begun in 2012, draws on Deaf culture and on work with Deaf and hard of hearing people to find new ways of building instruments, composing and performing. For The Reverse Collection, first presented at the 8th Berlin Biennale in 2014, musicians improvised on instruments of unknown origin from the storerooms of Berlin’s Ethnologisches Museum; instrument makers then built a new collection working only from the recordings. Beginning in 2015, his project I/E recorded the sounds of ports in cities such as Athens, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Porto and Beirut, material that informs Waters’ Witness (2020–23). The Whisperers (2022) grew out of workshops with his son’s kindergarten class in Paris and explores how sound moves through materials, spaces, bodies and motion. For At-Tāriq (2025), commissioned by TBA21, he reimagined the majlis, a space of hospitality common across North Africa and the Arab world, as a setting for collective listening, following three years of research in Morocco and the wider region.
In 2026, Atoui presented Hold, a commission for the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern in London that brings ancient instruments together with experimental technologies in an immersive sound environment. That same year, he organized the live performances for untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people), the Qatar Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale.
Tarek Atoui lives and works in Paris.
tarek atoui
untitled, 2022
stone, bronze cymbal, water spinner, electrical relay, pump, hydrophone, piezo, mixer, audio amplifier, underwater speaker, bronze bowl, audio transducer, mp3, wooden box
55.9 x 96.5 x 96.5 cm (22 x 38 x 38 in.)
tarek atoui
the whisperers: glass dome, 2021-2022
glass dome, water, bronze bowl with mounted transducer, handmade bubble systems, water pumps, air pumps, soundproof, wooden box, stones, marble stone, mixer, 3 meter brass rod,pipes, headphones, speaker, mac mini, relay cards
116.8 x 106.7 x 365.8 cm (46 x 42 x 144 in.)
tarek atoui
the whisperers: platinum record player, 2021-2022
piano string, sound proof wooden box, mixer, amplifier, transducer, stands, clamps, motor, stone polishing tool, headphones
129.5 x 50.8 x 101.6 cm (51 x 20 x 40 in.)
tarek atoui
pulses in 13, 2020
composition for sub ink, turntable study, cymbals, gong, water drops and computer generated sounds
variable dimensions
tarek atoui
whispered pulses #2, the whisperers, 2022
1 x sub Ink, 2 x black pumps, 1 x small bronze cymbal, 1 x cymbal, 1 x glass bulb, 1 x long mic stand round base
variable dimensions
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. the motorized bow, 2014
metal, leather, electronic components
8 x 32 x 13 cm (3.15 x 12.6 x 5.12 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions babasse, 2014
wood, metal, strings, electronic components
90 x 50 x 24 cm (35.43 x 19.69 x 9.45 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. aquaflute, 2014
acrylic, glass, metal, plastic, compressed air
120 x 85 x 38 cm (47.24 x 33.46 x 14.96 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. l'orgue à clapets, 2014
wood, metal tubes, strings, compressed air
128 x 107 x 64 cm (50.39 x 42.13 x 25.2 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. horns of putin, 2014
wood, plastic strips, metal, compressed air
130 x 960 x 500 cm (51.18 x 377.95 x 196.85 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. the church organ koto, 2014
acrylic structure, organ pipes, strings, ducts
150 x 30 x 110 cm (59.06 x 11.81 x 43.31 in.)
tarek atoui
the reverse sessions. three long horns, 2014
3 wooden horns coated with kraft paper, rubber balloons, compressed air
variable dimensions
installation view of tarek atoui: souffle continu, sunflowers, irish museum of modern art (imma), dublin, 2026. photo: ros kavanagh
installation view of tarek atoui: souffle continu, sunflowers, irish museum of modern art (imma), dublin, 2026. photo: ros kavanagh
installation view of tarek atoui: souffle continu, sunflowers, irish museum of modern art (imma), dublin, 2026. photo: ros kavanagh
installation view of tarek atoui: the water song, desert x alula 2026, alula, 2026. photo: lance gerber
installation view of tarek atoui: the water song, desert x alula 2026, alula, 2026. photo: lance gerber
installation view of tarek atoui: the water song, desert x alula 2026, alula, 2026. photo: lance gerber
installation view of tarek atoui: phonolites, alwarsha, alula, 2026. photo: nick jackson
installation view of tarek atoui: phonolites, alwarsha, alula, 2026. photo: nick jackson
installation view of tarek atoui: phonolites, alwarsha, alula, 2026. photo: nick jackson
installation view of tarek atoui: improvisation in 10 days, pirelli hangarbicocca, milan, 2025. photo: rasa juskeviciute
installation view of tarek atoui: improvisation in 10 days, pirelli hangarbicocca, milan, 2025. photo: rasa juskeviciute
installation view of tarek atoui: improvisation in 10 days, pirelli hangarbicocca, milan, 2025. photo: rasa juskeviciute
installation view of tarek atoui: at-tāriq, museo thyssen bornemisza, madrid, 2025. photo: lourdes cabrera
installation view of tarek atoui: at-tāriq, museo thyssen bornemisza, madrid, 2025. photo: lourdes cabrera
installation view of tarek atoui: at-tāriq, museo thyssen bornemisza, madrid, 2025. photo: lourdes cabrera
installation view of tarek atoui: the rain, art sonje center, seoul, 2024.
installation view of tarek atoui: the rain, art sonje center, seoul, 2024.
installation view of tarek atoui: the rain, art sonje center, seoul, 2024.
installation view of tarek atoui: the whisperers, the contemporary austin, texas, 2022. image courtesy the contemporary austin. photo: colin doyle
installation view of tarek atoui: the whisperers, the contemporary austin, texas, 2022. image courtesy the contemporary austin. photo: colin doyle
installation view of tarek atoui: the whisperers, the contemporary austin, texas, 2022. image courtesy the contemporary austin. photo: colin doyle
installation view of tarek atoui: organ within, kurimanzutto, new york, 2019.
installation view of tarek atoui: organ within, kurimanzutto, new york, 2019.
installation view of tarek atoui: organ within, kurimanzutto, new york, 2019.
installation view of tarek atoui in may you live in interesting times, 58th venice biennale, 2019. photo: andrea avezzù
installation view of tarek atoui in may you live in interesting times, 58th venice biennale, 2019. photo: andrea avezzù
installation view of tarek atoui in may you live in interesting times, 58th venice biennale, 2019. photo: andrea avezzù
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse collection, tate modern, london, 2016. courtesy of the artist and tate modern. photo: thierry bal
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse collection, tate modern, london, 2016. courtesy of the artist and tate modern. photo: thierry bal
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse collection, tate modern, london, 2016. courtesy of the artist and tate modern. photo: thierry bal
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse sessions, kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2014.
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse sessions, kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2014.
installation view of tarek atoui: the reverse sessions, kurimanzutto, mexico city, 2014.
Solo exhibitions include: Hold, Tate Modern, London (2026); Tarab: Recordings of classical arab music selected by Tarek Atoui, kurimanzutto, Mexico City and New York (2026); Souffle Continu and Sunflowers, Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin (2026); At-Tāriq. Un viaje a las tradiciones musicales rurales del norte de África y del mundo árabe, organized by TBA21, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (2025); Improvisation in 10 Days, Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2025); Bayt Al Hams (The Whispering House), commissioned by Royal Commission for AlUla for AlWarsha, AlUla, Saudi Arabia (2025); Tarek Atoui, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2024); the Shore / a place I’d like to be, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst (S.M.A.K.), Ghent, Belgium (2024); Standing Waves, Cukrarna Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia (2024); The Drift, Institut d’art contemporain (IAC), Villeurbanne/Rhône-Alpes, France (2023); Waters’ Witness, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney (2023); The Whisperers, The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2022); traveled to The FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2022); Waters’ Witness, Fridericianum, Kassel, Germany (2020); traveled to Serralves Foundation – Museum of Contemporary Art, Porto, Portugal (2022); and Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean (2022); Cycles in 11, Sharjah Art Foundation, United Arab Emirates (2020); Organ Within, kurimanzutto, New York (2019), among others.
Group exhibitions include: Attunement: Contemporary Politics between Mindscape and Soundscape, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan (2026); For Children. Art Stories since 1968, Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany (2025); Afrosonica – Paysages sonores, Musée d’ethnographie de Genève (MEG), Switzerland (2025); Retirez vos bouchons d’oreilles, Musée d’art de Joliette, Quebec, Canada (2023); Primary Forms, Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland (2022); Darmstädter Ferienkurse, Darmstadt, Germany (2021); Inner Ear Vision: Sound as Medium, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, Nebraska (2019); Resonance: A Sound Art Marathon, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (2019); L’Emprise des sens, as part of Le Printemps de Septembre, Quai des arts, Cugnaux, France (two-person exhibition with Camille Llobet) (2018); Infinite Ear, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2018); Soil and Stones, Souls and Songs, Para Site, Hong Kong, China (2017); GLOBALE: New Sensorium, Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe (ZKM), Germany (2016); Art or Sound, Fondazione Prada, Ca’ Corner della Regina, Venice (2014); Festival Internacional Santiago a Mil, Chile (2013), among others.
Atoui has participated in many international biennials, including: untitled 2026 (a gathering of remarkable people), Qatar Pavilion at the 61st Venice Biennale (2026); Space Without Measure, Desert X AlUla 2026, Saudi Arabia (2026); soft and weak like water, 14th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2023); 17. Istanbul Bienali (2022); Struer Tracks – Biennial for Sound and Listening, Denmark (2021); NIRIN, 22nd Biennale of Sydney, Australia (2020); May You Live in Interesting Times, 58th International Art Exhibition at the Venice Biennale (2019); Not New Now, Marrakech Biennale 6, Morocco (2016); 8. Berlin Biennale (2014); Re:emerge – Towards a New Cultural Cartography, Sharjah Biennial 11, United Arab Emirates (2013); dOCUMENTA (13), Kassel, Germany (2012); Intense proximité, La Triennale, Paris (2012); Performa 11, New York (2011); Trust, Media City Seoul 2010, South Korea (2010); Provisions, Sharjah Biennial 9, United Arab Emirates (2009), among others.
serralves museum presents tarek atoui's waters' witness
Read the full review on Tarek Atoui's artistic practice by Nadine Khalil for Ocula Magazine.
The Fridericianum presents Waters’ Witness, the first solo exhibition in Germany of the work of Tarek Atoui.
The Contemporary Austin in Texas has announced Tarek Atoui as the latest recipient for its biannual prize: the 2022 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize.
Okayama Art Summit is an international exhibition of contemporary art that offers visitors the opportunity not only to see exciting exhibits but also to experience the thought processes of the artists.
