8TET1+3 @ Arti et Amicitae (EKWC exhibition ‘MIX’)

In February 2019 I finished my residency at Sundaymorning@EKWC in Oisterwijk in The Netherlands. The EKWC, or European Ceramic Workcentre, is an institute where artists can immerse themselves in the world of ceramics for a period of three months. During my residency I developed quite a collection of different ceramic sound objects, large and small, in a variety of colours. My research revolved around finding the various sounds that could be made with the material.

One of the series I made during my research was the backside of a speaker, combined with a flat surface. I experimented a lot with different types of clay, and wall thickness. All objects were glazed, which also resulted into a variety of parameters. This series were named ‘Tuned Speakers’. The tuning was a result of having a large variety of circumstances, such as wall thickness (as a result of varying the amount of time the liquid clay was inside the mould) glazes, and type of clay. There was no way to control the tuning process, but by creating a wide variety of circumstances I hope to end up with a large variety of tones, which turned out to be correct.

The object 8TET1 (Octet 1) is a table with 8 Tuned Speakers, that are played by solenoids, which are connected to goosenecks, which make it possible to aim the solenoids to the Tuned Speakers in a specific angle. The solenoids can be triggered centrally, and 8TET1 can be played a single instrument, with amplified sound, since every Speaker has its’ own contactmicrophone built into the object.

8TET1 is part of the Foundscape Orchestra and can function individually but can also be hooked up to the system where many sound objects (Soundshapes) can be played in unison, as one big orchestra.