Hyundai Commission: Tarek Atoui Hold (Pre-order)

Published to accompany his epic multisensory installation in Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall, this monograph explores Tarek Atoui’s expansive work across music, technology, sculpture and performance.

‘Sound, not visual art, was the way for me to express things that are beyond language.’

Tarek Atoui has captivated audiences internationally with his boundary-pushing approach to sound. Blending music, technology, sculpture and performance, he is a truly cross-disciplinary artist whose work references current social, historical and political realities.

In Atoui’s installations, intricately engineered instruments, made in collaboration with other artists, composers and makers, double as sculptural objects. Often featuring organic elements such as glass, water and ceramics, these custom-made and imaginatively rethought instruments are activated by touch, breath and motors. Atoui combines the resulting music with environmental recordings from various geographical locations and computer-generated sounds to create immersive experiences and collaborative performances. Expanding the idea of sound beyond hearing, his work investigates how 'listening' can be experienced through multiple senses, including tactile and visual forms of perception.

Tarek Atoui’s site-specific work for Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall will be the 11th in the series of commissions supported by Hyundai Motor. Over the past decade, the annual Hyundai Commission has welcomed over 19 million visitors. Each year an artist is invited to create a new work in the vast industrial space of the Turbine Hall, reshaping public perceptions of contemporary art.

About the Author

Nabila Abdel Nabi is a London-based art historian and curator. She is currently Curator, International Art (Hyundai Tate Research Centre: Transnational) at Tate Modern. Previously she was the Associate Curator at The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery. Prior to this she served as Gallery Manager at The Third Line in Dubai. She earned her M.A. from The Courtauld Institute of Art and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. Born in Cairo, Egypt, she now lives in London, UK.

Dina Akhmadeeva is Curator, International Art, Tate Modern.

With contributions by Nabila Abdel Nabi, Dina Akhmadeeva, Tarek Atoui and Daniel Blanga Gubbay.

• Artist Tarek Atoui
• Exhibition Hyundai Commission
• Dimensions 24 x 17 cm
• Material FSC certified paper
• ISBN 9781917055680
• Paperback Yes
• Date of work 2026
• No of pages 144