Bell-Field

Bell-Field

Federation Handbells, on loan from Museums Victoria, in a display created by postgraduate students from the Melbourne School of Design, for the exhibition How it plays: Innovations in percussion, 2019. The postgraduate students describe their work:

Bell-Field builds upon the concept of the soundscape, creating an atmosphere that welcomes and captivates. Melbourne School of Design (MSD) Master of Architecture students from Studio 18 channeled these ideas to create a field where each of the 24 Federation Handbells would sit on top of a bespoke stand designed by the group. Surrounded by the handbells on display, visitors are invited to strike the handbells as they move through the space. This interaction causes sand to fall through an hourglass below, pairing each ring of a handbell with a visual display.

In the design of each stand, students leveraged their knowledge of digital fabrication techniques and the facilities available at the Fabrication Lab within the MSD. Every component was fabricated and assembled in-house by the group. A slim black steel frame houses a bronze tinted glass cylinder filled with coloured sand which corresponds the note with its respective Boomwhacker colour. The stand rests within a geometric plywood box which opens to store the components of the stand when it is dissembled. The geometric profile is derived from a radial tessellation stemming from the center of the room. At the bottom lies a concrete base of similar profile, providing stability to the installation. The handbell completes the stand by holding the pivoting hourglass in place.

Bell-Field interactive display created 2019; Federation Handbells created 2000

Field of Bells created by Students of Melbourne School of Design, University of Melbourne. Federation Handbells on loan from Museums Victoria/Creative Victoria