Harbour Master
Words Olivia Snaije
French-Lebanese artist and electro-acoustic composer Tarek Atoui, has long been fascinated by the human experiences that unfold in and around the world’s ports, and for the past 10 years he has been recording the sonic landscapes of busy waterfront cities around the world, from Athens, Beirut and Porto to Sydney, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.
The resulting immersive work, Waters’ Witness, features sounds from around the harbours and beneath the sea, which Atoui layers to create a unique soundscape that evokes the environmental and human experiences of ports. To craft these, he worked with the French sound artist Eric La Casa, who has been exploring the boundaries of music for more than 30 years. The resulting composition has also inspired sculptural elements and unusual musical devices that form part of the show.
“It’s about creating a complete experience that is channelled towards listening”
The evolving project has been presented in five locations so far – the Fridericanium in Germany, the Fundação de Serralves in Portugal, Mudam in Luxembourg, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and the Kunsthaus Bregenz in Austria. Each time Atoui presents Waters’ Witness, it takes on a new format inspired by its setting and the sounds captured since it was last shown. During the exhibition at Mathaf, he will record sounds in Qatar’s harbours, which will be added to later iterations of the installation. “It will be exceptional because it’s a starting point for a new cycle as part of a larger project and vision,” he says.
Atoui is also collaborating with Mathaf on the first studio in the Middle East dedicated to artistic practices focused on sound and moving images. “I feel humbled to be supporting the creation of a regional and international hub for artists of different sorts,” he says. “There’s a strong attention to the regional audience as well as a wider context.”
Like much of Atoui’s work, Waters’ Witness is about interpreting and challenging the ecosystem in which the work will be presented. “What does a sound exhibition entail?” asks Atoui. “It’s about creating a complete experience that is channelled towards listening.”
Photography Courtesy of Tarek Atoui.
