The Unsettled Planet is a project funded by the Brigstow Institute, that will bring together a diverse group of researchers from the arts, humanities, and science – addressing the Brigstow theme of ‘living well with uncertainty’. Michael Kendall will be working with Shirley Pegna, whose artistic research and practice is concerned with sound as material, together with Tamsin Badcoe (Department of English), Daniel Haines (Department of Historical Studies) and Lucy Donkin (History / History of Art).
Work has already started on an art and science installation: ‘A day in the life of a bell – a study in sound and vibrations’. Bells have a rich history in announcing natural hazards, such as earthquakes. We will instrument the Great George bell in the Wills Memorial Building with a seismometer, amplifier, camera, and data logger. The bell will record cultural noise in Bristol, but also distant earthquakes from as far away as Japan and other seismically active regions, but with regular punctuation from its own bell clapper.