Since the early 1970s, Bill Fontana has made art from the amplified sound of chosen objects and places, weaving them into subtle acoustic landscapes. After the disastrous 2019 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, he attached seismic accelerators to ten of the cathedral’s bells. Reduced to silence during the restoration work, these bells nevertheless remain extraordinary recesses of sound with each one responding to the noises of the restoration worksite, the wind and the murmurs of the city. Their amplified tones are mixed into a sound sculpture and projected into our vaulted Undercroft.
Project Factory partnered with Wells Cathedral to bring this unique work to Wells in Coronation week for a shared communion of sound and hope.
