As footsteps echo through the vast emptiness of the Turbine Hall, a soundscape comes to life. Spoken word compositions reverberate from all directions, blurring into a mesmerising artistic experience. This was the vision we brought to reality through our intricate audio installation for artist Bruce Nauman’s 2005 Raw Materials exhibit at Tate Modern.
Sound spaces formed the foundation of Bruce Nauman’s ambitious spoken-word installation within the vast Turbine Hall. Nauman orchestrated language across the enormous interior to explore rhythm, repetition, and meaning, while simultaneously using the building’s cavernous acoustics as an active element of the artwork. Rather than filling the hall indiscriminately with sound, the installation carefully shaped how audio occupied and moved through the space. By strategically deploying directional sound speakers, the project ensured that specific phrases and tones reached intended listening zones, turning language into a physical, architectural presence and allowing visitors to experience the artwork in an immersive, spatially dynamic way.
The project required routing 21 distinct audio tracks through 28 electrostatic speakers and four suspended dome speakers, all precisely positioned throughout the hall. To achieve the required control, we designed and built specialised baffles and enclosures that limited spill and managed reflections in the highly reverberant environment. These technical decisions allowed sound to guide visitors intuitively, drawing them through the hall using carefully defined sound spaces rather than visual prompts. Each zone offered a unique auditory experience, encouraging exploration without overwhelming the listener.
The sheer scale of the Turbine Hall introduced significant logistical and technical challenges. Limited access meant installation had to be executed quickly and efficiently, prompting the use of multi-pin breakout boxes to simplify cabling and speed deployment. During testing, constant repatching and calibration were required to optimise gain structure, balance, and intelligibility. Small adjustments had a dramatic impact, demonstrating how sensitive large architectural sound spaces are to precision and planning.
Nauman’s long-standing fascination with language sits at the core of this work. Influenced by figures such as Samuel Beckett and Ludwig Wittgenstein, he has repeatedly used words, rhythm, and repetition to explore human frustration, communication, and social tension. Language, for Nauman, is not merely descriptive but experiential. In this installation, spoken phrases echo, repeat, and reappear from different directions, creating moments of reflection, discomfort, and engagement as visitors move through the hall.
Repetition plays a crucial role, reinforcing meaning while subtly altering perception over time. As visitors transition between different sound spaces, familiar phrases take on new emotional weight depending on direction, proximity, and overlap. The installation demonstrates how sound, when carefully controlled, can influence movement, attention, and emotional response without relying on volume or spectacle.
Ultimately, this project highlights the power of well-designed sound spaces to transform architecture into an active participant in artistic expression. By combining rigorous technical execution with conceptual depth, the installation fulfils Nauman’s aim of creating socially engaged art that challenges, provokes, and resonates. Long after visitors leave the Turbine Hall, the experience lingers, proof that sound spaces can shape memory as powerfully as form or light.
Disrupting the traditionally quiet space of the gallery, Nauman has said he wants the experience of his work to be “like getting hit in the face with a baseball bat. Or better, like getting hit in the back of the neck. You never see it coming; it just knocks you down.”
With 21 sounds and 35 outputs, a DSP matrix routing was essential. Visual mapping of speaker points as source selectors enabled us to make quick changes to levels, EQ, and compression. A 150Hz high-pass filter added protection. The system was centralised around a DSP zone mixer and 4x 8 channel Cloud amplifiers.
In the summer of 2017, the piece was shown again. This time, we modernised the system and opted for an audio over IP architecture. We used 8x nXp1504D Dante enabled amplifiers and a single Mac mini computer was playing the audio content via Dante Virtual Soundcard.
Looking to transform an expansive or acoustically difficult environment through sound? Our expertise in multi-channel audio systems and acoustic modelling can build immersive audio experiences suited to your space. Contact our team to discuss your vision.