Solo Exhibition At Sharjah Art Foundation Explores Sound Performance

Marking over a decade of work created by contemporary sound artist Tarek Atoui, a major solo exhibition at Sharjah Art Foundation is exploring the art of listening, composition and performance

Curated by Director of Sharjah Art Foundation, Hoor Al Qasimi, and part of the foundation’s autumn 2020 season, a six-month exhibition called Tarek Atoui: Cycles in 11 is exploring instrument-making, compositional structure and musical collaboration. On view until 10 April 2021, the featured works represent the culmination of artist Tarek Atoui’s ongoing exploration of different methods of listening, composition and performance. The instruments created by Tarek are the product of extensive research into music history and tradition, as well as collaborations with experts.

The show builds on the artist’s earlier project entitled WITHIN, which investigates how deafness can influence the way sound performance, space and instrumentation are understood.During the exhibition, Bait Al Serkal, located in Sharjah, will operate as both a sound lab and a performance and listening space informed by the local tradition of hospitality. Another sound lab will be arranged in Kalba, close to Sharjah’s natural reserves and archaeological sites.

VE, 2020

Cycles in 11 will also be the starting point for a regional and international residency programme that will extend into 2022. Musicians, composers and artists will be invited to develop new work for the residency, either individually or with different audiences in Sharjah. In 2007, Tarek studied contemporary and electronic music at the French National Conservatory of Reims. His work often challenges established ways of listening through innovative approaches to sound and instruments. He has participated in numerous exhibitions and festivals worldwide including the 8th Berlin Biennale (2014), Tate Modern, London (2016), Garage Moscow (2018) and Okayama Art Summit, Japan (2019). The artist was recently awarded the 2022 Suzanne Deal Booth / Flag Art Foundation Prize.

Tarek Atoui: Cycles in 11 will run until 10 April 2021 at Bait Al Serkal, Arts Square, Sharjah.

For more information click here.

All images courtesy of Sharjah Art Foundation and the artist

From the Winter 2020 issue of Harper’s Bazaar Interiors, The Art Issue