Tarek Atoui's Sonic Practice: Deaf Gain and Vibrational Sound

Tarek Atoui's decade-long projects WITHIN and Infinite Ear, initiated in 2013, center Deaf expertise in sonic perception. The Lebanese-born sound artist began collaborating with Deaf students from Al Amal School for the Deaf in Sharjah in 2012 during a residency at Sharjah Art Foundation. His workshop Below 160 (2011) used sub-160 Hz frequencies, leading Deaf participants to physically engage with sound as vibration. Atoui's work challenges phonocentric histories of listening, aligning with Deaf studies concepts like 'deaf gain' (H-Dirksen L. Bauman and Joseph J. Murray). The projects involve custom instruments, collective performances, and collaborations with hundreds of musicians, artists, and scientists. Key iterations include Sharjah Biennial 11 (2013) and Bergen Assembly (2016), where Atoui served as artistic co-director. The Bergen exhibition featured nine instruments built with Deaf musicians, a film program, and a reader edited by Emma McCormick-Goodhart. Infinite Ear has since traveled to Moscow and Madrid, adapting to local Deaf communities. Atoui's practice emphasizes tactility and visuality, moving beyond vibration as a unifying force, as critiqued by anthropologists Stefan Helmreich and Michele Friedner. Council, founded by Sandra Terdjman and Grégory Castéra, co-organized the projects. Atoui's work with Deaf communities continues to explore sound through body, fingers, skeleton, and visual stimuli.