COPPER SOUNDS

Sequenced Ceramics

2021 | Stoneware & earthenware, custom made sequencer, steel poles, pole clamps, microphones, speakers, FX pedals, mixing desk

Sequenced Ceramics is an immersive ceramic sound installation inspired by traditional bells, singing bowls and sculptural clay instruments such as the ghatam.

Experiments with different clays, forms, and scales allowed Copper Sounds to gain a deeper understanding of the specific acoustic and resonant properties of ceramics. The final sculptures exhibit a range of traditional clay making techniques and were sculpted with both visual and sonic aesthetics in mind. They form an intimate installation activated by a custom-made sequencer and mechanical beaters. The minimalist hypnotic compositions invite the viewer to contemplate the relationship between form and sound.

Sequenced Ceramics was developed in collaboration with Chris Ingram, Milly Hardy and Thomas Blackstock with the help of funding from Help Musicians UK. This installation was shown at British Ceramics Biennial’s headline exhibition Award in 2023.

This project is part of the International Exchange Programme in partnership with the British Ceramics Biennial and is kindly supported by the British Council, British Ceramics Biennial and Henry Moore Foundation.

ISAAC STACEY AND SONNY LEE LIGHTFOOT

COPPER SOUNDS is an artist duo who use traditional and contemporary ceramic processes to explore the physical and visual nature of sound. Like clay, they see sound as a malleable material, and manipulate it through designing, making and often performing with unique sonic objects.

Their process is about experimentation and the unknown, trying things out and always thinking directly about how the object and the sound affect one another. The objects they make tell the story of their process and act as markers of their journey through sound.