Copper Sounds
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Works of art from expert Bath Spa ceramicist selected for British Ceramics Biennial flagship exhibition
Thursday, 26 October, 2023Isaac Stacey, Technical Demonstrator in Screenprint at Bath Spa University, is celebrating after his installation, Sequenced Ceramics, from his project Copper Sounds was selected to be displayed at this year’s British Ceramics Biennial flagship exhibition.
The exhibition, titled Award, headlines the six-week biennial event and showcases pieces from Britain’s best ceramicists working in thought-provoking ways with exceptional levels of skill and technique.
Copper Sounds is the results of a collaboration between Isaac and former Bath Spa University Technical Demonstrator, Sonny Lee Lightfoot. For their Sequenced Ceramics work they teamed up with two other ceramicists, Milly Hardy and Thomas Blackstock, to use traditional and contemporary processes to explore the physical and visual nature of sound.
As mentioned in The Guardian, Sequenced Ceramics provides a soundtrack of chimes, as beaters intermittently hit a selection of vases, pots and bowls, creating a meditative atmosphere.
Discussing the collaborative work of art, Isaac said:
“We are all really pleased to have received this level of recognition. The project came to be because we were initially inspired by traditional bells, singing bowls and sculptural clay instruments such as the Udu and the Ghatam. We then experimented with different clays, forms and scales; allowing us to understand the specific acoustic and resonant properties of ceramics.
“Through this process we began to think about sound, like clay, as a malleable material which you can manipulate through various sculpting and making processes. The final sculptures showcase a range of traditional ceramic making techniques, forms and are made with both visual and sonic aesthetics in mind.
“These sculptures are presented together as an intimate installation and are activated by mechanical beaters, resulting in immersive and hypnotic sonic patterns, which invite the viewer to contemplate this relationship between form and sound. The installation is also performed live at specific times, during which we programme the sequencer with more complex patterns and further manipulate the sounds with additional effects.”
An album of the Sequenced Ceramics sounds is also soon to be released as a ceramic vessel. The shape of the ceramic will be based on one of the ceramics from the installation itself and will have a download code printed on it to access the tracks. More information will be available via the Copper Sounds website.
The Sequenced Ceramics installation — which has previously been displayed at the Bristol New Music festival of contemporary music and sound — can be seen at the eighth edition of the British Ceramics Biennial in Stoke-on-Trent until 5 November 2023. Entry is free.
For more information, visit the British Ceramics Biennial website.