Bell Ringing at An Lanntair as part of Re-Soundings and BBC Music Day 2016

  • Published on: 2nd June 2016
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In celebration of BBC Music Day and as part of An Lanntair’s latest exhibition ‘Re-Soundings, by artists Mhairi Killin and Hugh Watt, we will be ringing bells at An Lanntair on Friday the 3rd of June at 7pm.

As part of an artist talk exploring the inspirations behind their individual practices and their experience of working collaboratively on the Re-Soundings project, Mhairi and Hugh will be ringing a bell cast from WW1 brass shell casings in memory of those who fought in WW1and as part of BBC Music Day. This insight into their work will be followed by an artist led gallery tour, inviting the audience to share their thoughts and questions in the presence of the work.

BBC Music Day on Friday 3rd June 2016 will see bells ringing out simultaneously at 7pm right across the UK, in towns, cities and villages and everywhere from Cathedrals to smaller parish churches.

Mhairi and Hugh’s exhibition presents an installation combining sound, film and sculpture that explores the role and symbolism of the bell within the landscapes of Lewis and Iona.

Set against the wider context of the Reformation in Europe, the exhibition will coincide with two site-specific sound interventions which will play simultaneously in St. Oran’s chapel on Iona and St. Moluag’s chapel on Lewis.

The gallery installation includes sculptural bells cast from decommissioned World War 1 weapons and a specially commissioned sound work by composer Dr. John Purser of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

The Mhairi Killin commented:
” I will be ringing this specially commissioned bell in memory of all those who left the islands of Scotland to fight in the Great War, including my great uncle from the Isle of Iona who was amongst some of the first men to die at the Somme”

Mhairi Killin is a visual artist based on Iona. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art, her practice combines drawing, installation and sculpture in an exploration of the island landscapes that surround and are her home. Mhairi has undertaken RSA residencies at Taigh Chearsabhagh, Uist (2011) and Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Skye (2012) and she was the visual artist in residence at the Leighton Art Colony, Banff Centre for the Arts, Canada in 2013. Recently elected to the RSA, her current practice seeks to understand place from a specific perspective, one of inquiry into how faith and belief inspire creativity and how this creativity has shaped the physical and metaphysical landscapes of the Gàidhealtachd.

Hugh Watt is a Northern Irish artist based in Glasgow, known for his evocative work in film and video. He completed the MFA at Glasgow School of Art in 1999, where he has taught in the Media Studios since 2001 and in 2015 became a member of the, Glasgow School of Art’s, ‘Reading Landscape’, research group. For the last 10 years he has been visiting lecturer at Lews Castle College in North Uist. In 2012 Hugh was the recipient of an RSA residency at Timespan in Helmsdale and in 2004 artist in residency at Cove Park. His artistic output is driven by a fascination concerned with the fabric and context of specific sites, exploring concepts where artworks are spun directly from the fabric of the sites where they are eventually shown.

The artist talk will take place at An Lanntair on Friday 3rd June at 7pm.

To book your tickets click here.