‘Federation bells carillon’ Birrarung Marr park Melbourne, 1998-2002
Anton Hasell introduces a collection of stories about bells and chimes that resonate through time and space.
Even with accelerating AI and simulacra digital connectivity, a person’s sense of community, rituals, traditions, and continuity comes from sharing vivid, visceral, and actual experiences with others. In George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, Winston grasps at beautiful objects dislocated from a previous age, trying to make sense of an incoherent present.
“All the while they were talking, the half-remembered rhyme kept running through Winston’s head. “Oranges and lemons say the bells of St Clement’s”. … It was curious, but when you said it to yourself, you had the illusion of actually hearing bells of a lost London that still existed somewhere or other, disguised and forgotten. … Yet so far as he could remember, he had never in real life heard church bells ringing”. (1984 Orwell 1987 pp 81-2)
Bells and their sounds are both overt and subliminal threads from our communal past to our communal future. People’s stories and experiences with bells form a sonic continuum that links what was and what can be.
Garland welcomes more stories about bells: both the making and ringing.
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Of storms and stillness: Embroidery with passion - Hansika Sharma travels to Kutch to find the indigo that will connect her to the skies above.
Sky Temple - Helen Vivian reflects on that re-wilding project that enabled a garden to grow a temple
Joss House artifacts: Rediscovering Australia’s Chinese temples - Michael Williams uncovers a rich material heritage from communal buildings used by Chinese migrants.
A future for which the bell tolls - Anton Hasell draws on the auditory heritage of cathedrals to fabricate bells that will resonate into the distant future.
How ancestors guide our journeys - Tiffany Singh writes about her installations and performance that draw on spiritual and collective energies.
The Uuseum of the white desert: A showcase of Kutchi crafts - Aashka Jadeja reveals the contents of the House of Amoda at Rann Utsav - Tent City, Dhordo village.
Crafting sonic uncertainty in objects, events and installations - Gary Warner re-traces a life in sound in which he produces experimental works that realise the sonic potential of the world around us.
The black gem of Ukraine: Forging fragility in Donetsk - We share a poem from Carbon: Song of Crafts by Svetlana Lavochkina that reflects the place of blacksmithing at the heart of Donetsk, Ukraine.
Kan Doenthang: Lost wax to recover a disappearing world - Rudee Tancharoen shares the lost wax casting work made with the village of Baan Pa-Ao for the sake of staying in touch with a grounded way of life.
Shake it up! - In the sixth and final instalment of #africamade_n_played, Gary Warner reveals the ubiquitous source of rhythm that animates African music and bodies.
The power of wedding adornments - Khushbu Mathur itemises the rituals and adornments of a Hindu wedding, showing how love is exchanged through conduits of auspiciousness.
Kōgei Hackathon: Toyama transforms craft - Sari Hayashiguchi introduces the results of a creative storm that re-configured traditional crafts in Takaoka City.
Quest for the lost bronze casters: A journey to Ban Pa Ao - A dinner party conversation sets Rudee Tancharoen on a quest to find the lost casters of northern Thailand. She discovers an ancient village who welcomed her visit. 