Tarek Atoui

In an interview with Nadine Khalil for Ocula Magazine, the artist described how the work was involved 'with how objects, shapes, and functions could change with oral transmission.

The project aims to explore the modes of tactile, physical, gestural and visual sound perception, and develop instruments that can be played by deaf as well as by hearing people.

The Ground[12] is the result of Tarek Atoui's trips and investigations over a period of 5 years around the agricultural environment of Pearl River Delta (Guangdong, China).

Each presentation of The Ground is punctuated with invitations to musicians and composers to activate and play the instruments in an experimental conversation to find new musical gestures and enrich the soundscape.

For this exhibition, the instruments play autonomously in a composition constantly fed by their own sounds and vibrations, creating immersive soundscapes and engaging the act of listening.

The fourth in a series documenting Waters’ Witness, the publication is created with Atoui’s long-term collaborator, Alexandre Guirkinger, and incorporates an evocative photo essay by the French photographer, as well as a foreword by MCA Australia Director Suzanne Cotter".

[15] The sandstone sculptures and sea sounds were inspired by Australian nature, specifically by the Port Botany area and Sydney Harbour.