Tate Modern has unveiled a major new multisensory installation by artist and composer Tarek Atoui. Combining sculpture, performance, music, technology and social research, Atoui creates environments where sound is experienced not only through the ears, but through the whole body. For his Hyundai Commission, he has transformed the Turbine Hall into an immersive sonic landscape comprising custom-built wind instruments, percussion and sculptural objects, woven together to make an orchestra which connects the earth and sky. Through participation and performance, this living environment will constantly evolve throughout the run of the commission.
Atoui’s installation is the culmination of over two decades of experimentation, including collaborations with musicians, instrument-makers, engineers and researchers across Asia and Europe.
Throughout the six-month duration, the Turbine Hall will regularly become a site for live sound-based performances, where a network of musicians will ‘plug into’ Atoui’s installation, including its instruments and stones, as a giant sound system.
.