Left: Horns of Putin, 2014–2019 Right: Souffle Continu - Organ Within, 2022
Tarek Atoui is an artist and composer whose work redefines how we perceive and experience sound. Born in Beirut in 1980 and trained in electroacoustic music, Atoui explores listening as a physical, collective, and deeply sensory act. His practice is rooted in experimentation and collaboration - constantly questioning how sound can be produced, transmitted, and perceived.
The Reverse Collection, 2016
Atoui’s installations are immersive, often taking the form of sonic environments that shift our attention from hearing to sensing. He builds his own unique instruments in dialogue with musicians, technicians, and craftspeople, blending traditional knowledge with contemporary technology. These instruments don’t follow the logic of conventional music - they resonate, vibrate, and pulse in ways that invite audiences to listen with their whole bodies.
Left: Souffle Continu - Wind House #1, 2023 Right: Waters’ Witness, 2023
Central to his work is the idea that sound is not only heard but also felt. This becomes particularly powerful in projects like WITHIN, in which he collaborates with deaf and hard-of-hearing participants to develop new ways of experiencing sound through movement, touch, and shared presence. His approach resists spectacle in favor of intimate exploration, making sound tangible and participatory.
Atoui often draws from the acoustic ecologies of ports, cities, and landscapes, transforming field recordings of water, wind, and urban resonance into layered compositions. These are presented through carefully arranged materials like stone, metal and wood that act as conduits for vibration and sound, turning the gallery into a living instrument.
Left: The Whispers, 2023 Right: Detail of The Rain, 2023
Rather than offering finished works, Tarek Atoui’s pieces are open systems - always in flux, always becoming. They invite us not just to listen, but to tune in: to space, to others, and to the the world around us.