The Reverse Collection is an ensemble of instruments that has been conceived in several steps. The project started with the Dahlem Sessions during the 8th Berlin Biennale in 2014, when Atoui invited musicians to improvise on historical instruments from the collection of the ethnological museum in Berlin. Next, the recordings from these performances were passed on to instrument makers to develop new instruments that would allow the recreation of these sounds. Eight instruments were constructed and exhibited in Mexico City at kurimanzutto in 2014, resulting in several performances and new compositions, called the Reverse Sessions. The third and last step was presented as Reverse Collection in 2016 at Tate Modern in London with a new generation of ten instruments. The collection was activated in several performances which Atoui recorded. It was completed by a multichannel sound work in the exhibition space that was evolving over the whole duration of the show and allowing multiple associations between object, sound, space and performance. In an interview with Nadine Khalil for Ocula Magazine, the artist described how the work was involved 'with how objects, shapes, and functions could change with oral transmission.'
