I/E is an archeology of sound, a research in the hidden sound layers of port cities. Sounds are captured at the seaside, from underwater or the underground world, in an attempt to locate and to understand the sonic identity of the places. The raw material gathered during these recordings is the starting point for an interpretation of the site: compositions and performances that extrapolate to the outside and re-project on the site the sounds of its own unapparent stories.

I/E was originally designed by Tarek Atoui as a sound studio, a listening space and a performance platform housed in a soundproof transport container. I/E has been thought of as a versatile tool for recording sound, playing and collaborating with a variety of musicians in ever-changing external contexts. In this process, agency and personal contribution are seized and detoured to create performances that have a unique physicality, sound quality and tension. The activation of I/E, the invited recordists and musicians, their collaborations and interrelations are defined according to the environment and the context the instrument is implemented in. Following Atoui’s methodology, each environment produces a unique score that becomes part of the instrument and basis for its future activations.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia publication Tarek Atoui: Waters' Witness is the fourth volume in an international series of photographic books that form part of the Waters' Witness project. Produced in partnership with Atoui's long-term collaborator, French photographer Alexandre Guirkinger, the publication captures and articulates the Sydney components of this dynamic contemporary artwork.
The publication documents the project's development in Sydney and the exhibition at the MCA, with images of the work installed in the MCA galleries, and a photographic essay by Guirkinger featuring significant Sydney locations including Port Botany and La Perouse. Guirkinger's imagery brings a seductive visual element to the largely sound-based work and offers a unique perspective on Atoui's practice and process.
The publication includes a foreword by Suzanne Cotter, Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia and an interview with Tarek Atoui by Curator Anna Davis, focusing on his new work in Sydney and its connection to the ongoing Waters' Witness project.

Published in november 2023 by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Australia

Texts by Suzanne Cotter, Tarek Atoui and Anna Davis.

Graphic Design by Goda Budvytyté

English edition

22 x 31 cm (broché, couv. à rabats)

44 pages (ill.)