Tarek Atoui: the Shore/a place I’d like to be / Sirah Foighel Brutmann & Eitan Efrat: Là

S.M.A.K. announces two new exhibitions in April, by Tarek Atoui and by Sirah Foighel Brutmann & Eitan Efrat.

Tarek Aroui: the Shore/a place I’d like to be
Sound lies at the heart of the artistic practice of Tarek Atoui (b. 1980, Beirut, Lebanon). As an electro-acoustic composer and artist, Atoui is known for creating sonic-sculptural landscapes inspired by sound as well as images, matter, space, time, human actions and organic processes. Within these inventive listening environments, which appeal to more than just the ear, he creates rich experiences and interactions that carry sensory as well as socio-political meanings.

The meticulously designed musical instruments, listening devices, sculptures and objects in Tarek Atoui’s works are the result of detailed conceptual and technical processes. Drawing on deep research and experimentation, they bear the stamp of his ongoing work with experts, craftspeople and a community of collaborators. Composed into agile installations that interact with the context in which they are exhibited, they encourage activity in a myriad ways. Different things can happen in these non-hierarchical learning environments: a stand-alone musical composition might play or the instruments might be activated by professional musicians or by the public, during a guided visit or participatory workshop. Visitors to the exhibition are gently prompted to listen to the space, to each other and to themselves.

For his first solo exhibition at a Belgian museum, Tarek Atoui brings together existing works and new productions in a detailed, associative ensemble. He draws on projects such as WITHIN (2013-ongoing), which considers alternative ways of generating music, and The Whisperers, an exploration of how existing sounds change in relation to an array of materials, such as marble, glass, metal and water. Two new works, 66 Soft Cells and Windhouse #1 further expand the experiential and perceptual richness of the overall landscape.

The exhibition is accompanied by a programme of performances. Realised with the support of the French Embassy in Belgium and the Institut français Paris. Within the framework of EXTRA, supporting contemporary French creations in Belgium.

Sirah Foighel Brutmann & Eitan Efrat: Là
Là is the first museum exhibition by Brussels-based filmmakers Sirah Foighel Brutmann (b.1983) and Eitan Efrat (b.1983). In their work, they collaborate to create audio-visual pieces, installations, and performances. Their practice focuses on the performative aspects of moving images. They strive to mark the spatial and durational potentialities of images, relations between spectatorship and history, the temporality of narratives and memory, and the material surfaces of image production.

Là continues the artists' dialogue with the Belgian director Chantal Akerman, who died in 2015. It is an audio-visual journey between Belgium and the Negev/Naqab desert in Israel/Palestine, examining the conviction of belonging through natural elements and historical accountability.

Là represents a reconciliation with Akerman’s death and the impossibility of being able to communicate with her. Drawing on the work of Levinas, Derrida, and Akerman herself (in particular No Home Movie, including her writings), the exhibition engages in an imaginary dialogue with Akerman as a way to grieve. The artists lament the world left behind by Akerman as a legacy and intend Là to be a reassessment of European Jewish accountability to Israel and the ongoing Palestinian Nakba from a post-Zionist perspective, in line with the rich history of Belgian Jewish anti-fascist movements from both communities.

Primarily featuring new artworks, Là produces an experimental audio-visual environment where the production and presentation processes and mechanisms of moving images and sound feature spatially and expansively to invoke a layered perception of place.

The exhibition is curated by Karima Boudou and realised in partnership with Messidor and Courtisane Film Festival. With the support of the Flemish government.

Sirah Foighel Brutmann and Eitan Efrat are members of Messidor and Level Five. Refusing any form of monetary transaction with government-subsidised institutions in Israel, they support the struggle for the liberation of the Palestinian people in Palestine and around the world.