Pentatonic

Pentatonic

Pentatonic (2024)
 Nerikomi mid-fire porcelain, custom electronics, music

Pentatonic is a fusion of form and sound: five porcelain platters crafted in the Nerikomi style from stained clay, each serving both as a functional piece and a sound instrument. Resonating with the A minor pentatonic scale, these platters become speakers, activated by transducers powered by a custom microprocessor. This convergence of clay and sound creates a multi-sensory experience, allowing viewers to experience sound as a tactile presence and form as melody.

The universal pentatonic scale—essential in blues, jazz, Ancient Greek, and meditative music—provides the foundation, resonating through layered Nerikomi patterns that embody harmony and unity. Created using slab production, staining, and Nerikomi techniques, each platter showcases contrasting textures and subtle, curved forms, emphasised by a translucent matte glaze. Colours are chosen to harmonise with the ritual of serving food, adding a minimalistic, sensory dimension.

Pentatonic bridges my work as a sound designer with my passion for ceramics, merging auditory and tactile art.

Music by Atunement (Panos Couros and Mx Robert Frost)

Atunement is an experimental project blending modern electronics with musique concrète, drone, ambient, and noise. Driven by improvisation, Panos Couros and Mx Robert Frost unite their distinct approaches to create soundscapes that elevate consciousness, exploring the intersection of acoustic and electronic sound.

* All sound in video below emanates from the ceramic platters

 

AmphiSonic

AmphiSonic

AmphiSonic is a large scale immersive (ambisonic) sound environment that intersects Science, Art, First Nations knowledge, Electronic Music and the natural world.

AmphiSonic was commissioned by Curiocity Brisbane at the World Science Festival in Brisbane from June 24 – July 10, 2022.

AmphiSonic is presented and performed live daily by sound artist Panos Couros using pre recorded commissioned work from First Nations Yankunytjatjara Poet Ali Cobby Eckermann; esteemed frog disease scientist Dr Lee Berger and herpetologist Danielle Wallace from the University of Melbourne; First Nations singer and actor Ursula Yovich; and electronic musicians from the Doon Doon Collective – Greta Kelly, Siyavash Doostkhah and Amanda King. Additional voice by Jane Phegan.

soft cell

soft cell

Fanny Bay Gaol – November 2012 Darwin Pride Exhibition

Each artist was given a prison cell or a part of the prison to respond to. My work featured a video projection where the window of the cell was. The projection was of clouds. The soundscape reflected the challenges and horrors of prison life.

Video / Sound installation

People’s Choice prize, highly commended

 

 

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omphalos

omphalos

Omphalos is the Greek word for navel, and it is often used to refer to the oracle at Delphi – which was considered to be the navel of the world in ancient times.

A sound installation comprising of seven large ceramic urns and a smaller central urn. The urns sing, emitting dreamlike resonances from within. The installation functions as an oracle and the audience may query it by speaking directly and intimately into the central urn (the Pythia). A gentle, ethereal voice replies with an answer to the query whilst the outer urns sing and dramatically accompany the oracular process. Kudos Gallery, Sydney Greek Festival. 2005.

Credits:

Principle Artist / Composer / Sound Designer : Panos Couros
Clay Artist: Neville Assad-Salha
Programmers : Alex Davies, Adam Hinshaw
Vocalists: Arianthe Galani, Gina Zoia, Anita Plateris
Voice of Pythia: Arianthe Galani, Marianthe Couros
Website: Graham Crawford

Creative development of this project was facilitated by Nexus Multicultural Arts Centre, Adelaide. Special thanks to Mirna Heruc

Developed with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts

Real Time Review

video
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a noise of worms

a noise of worms

A 3 part sound Installation created in collaboration with Wayne Stamp at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Sydney) exhibition Sound In Space: Adventures in Australian Sound Art (July 1995) curated by Rebecca Coyle and Allessio Cavallaro.

The work comprised of an 8 metre concrete pipe (Line C) situated outdoors in front of the MCA, mounted with an 18″ driver creating a large acoustic canon. The second stage (Line B) was situated at the old front door of the MCA, with speakers mounted overhead as people enter. This played pulsar sounds recorded at Parkes Observatory. Line A was situated on the fourth floor, where the listener wore headphones whilst standing on a square of recycled human waste.

Featuring Wayne Stamp, Panos Couros, Anthony Babicci, Chris Ryan, Branco and pulsar sounds from Parkes Radio Telescope.

Full work can be heard here

https://soundcloud.com/panoscouros/a-noise-of-worms/s-7aTknhJViok?si=475b3f9a51eb4112b7d64e91db72993a&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

.top floor MCA