Since its launch in 2014, the Hyundai series of commissions at Tate Modern has attracted over 21.6 million visitors. Every year, an artist transforms the vast industrial space of its Turbine Hall – previously the central generator room of the Bankside Power Station – into an immersive experience. It has been a launchpad for some of the boldest and most memorable installations of the past decade – from Kara Walker’s fountain Fons Americanus (2019) to Anicka Yi’s floating artificial lifeforms in 2021. It returns this year for its 11th edition with Hold, a suspended orchestra from Beirut-born, Paris-based sound artist Tarek Atoui (b. 1980).
As they enter the Turbine Hall, viewers will look up and see an array of wind instruments, percussion, electronics and sculptural objects hanging from above. Amongst them is a metal karnai – a ceremonial brass trumpet from Uzbekistan – as well as various drum skins, gongs and shengs (mouth organs from China and Southeast Asia) connected via a network of bamboo pipes. In curating these elements, Atoui has responded to the Turbine Hall’s extraordinary 85-foot height, airflows and acoustics. Microphones embedded within the installation sample sounds from both the instruments and the bustle of people passing through, which are processed by custom software and then played back into the space.
On the hall floor, stones and warm lights invite visitors to sit, lie, gaze up and take in the atmosphere. Viewers might be reminded of the 2003 smash hit Weather Project, for which Olafur Eliasson encouraged audiences to do the very same – albeit under a giant sun, rather than a soundscape. It was important for Atoui to create the same sense of community; Hold draws on personal memories of gathering places – he cites vine-covered canopies and sheltered courtyards as inspiration – in order to turn the Turbine Hall into “a site for encounter and exchange.” In this way, it resonates with other art projects unfolding across the city – including the current Serpentine Pavilion by LANZA Atelier, situated across the river. It also serves as a temporary place for people to meet, encouraging conversation, interaction and play.
For Atoui, Hold is the culmination of over two decades’ experimental practice, including collaborations with musicians, instrument-makers, engineers and researchers across Asia and Europe. The artist is particularly interested in fusing new technologies with ancient sounds. For example, he worked with architecture firm Arthur Mamou-Mani to create 3D-printed horns from a composite material made with sugar resin and bamboo dust. Atoui also teamed up with Satoshi Kondo, designer of ISSEY MIYAKE’s women’s line, who provided textiles used in the installation. These fabrics – some 20-metres-long – are particularly special: they are coated with conductive paint that transmits a low electric current to a synthesiser, generating shifting bass tones as they oscillate with the wind and humidity within the 35,520 square foot area.
Throughout the six-month duration of the Hyundai Commission, the Turbine Hall will regularly become a site for live performances, where musicians will “plug into” or play within Atoui’s installation. The line-up will feature local and international talents, from instrumentalists to electronic artists, including Oscar-winning sound designer Nicolas Becker, acclaimed composer Valentina Magaletti and vocalist Elaine Mitchener. This programme establishes Tate not only as a space to discover cutting-edge contemporary visual art, but as a destination for people to connect through sound, too. Hold is a feast for the senses.
Hyundai Commission – Tarek Atoui: Hold is at Tate Modern, London, until 11 April.
Words: Eleanor Sutherland
Image Credits:
1. Hyundai Commission Tarek Atoui at Tate Modern. Installation View © Tate Photography (Yili Liu)
2. Hyundai Commission Tarek Atoui at Tate Modern. Installation View © Tate Photography (Yili Liu)
3. Hyundai Commission Tarek Atoui at Tate Modern. Installation View © Tate Photography (Kathleen Arundell)
