Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience - Exhibition at Holy Trinity Church - Photographic documentation of Matt Stokes’ Art Installation, ‘Gogmagog: Voices of the Bells’

This folder includes images from MCAHE project depicting Matt Stokes’ Art installation 'Gogmagog: Voices of the Bells’ at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland.

Please read in conjunction with the Project Overview Metadata

Images of the installations at Holy Trinity Church have to be credited to the artist Matt Stokes, and the respective photographer: Colin Davidson (Please see file name)

As a starting point for his audio installation, Stokes' explored the history of the church and gathered narratives from local residents and groups. Gogmagog is based on an eight-bell ‘Bob Triples’ peal composed by Benjamin Annable in the mid-1700s, which was rung at Holy Trinity during the late nineteenth century. The 46-minute composition, developed in collaboration with local musicians, was played through a circle of eight speakers in the centre of the church nave. Five distinct sections, sung by community choirs and singular voices, drew on stories describing the founding of the church, Britain’s first cholera outbreak, slum clearances, the dismantling of the nearby Garths housing estate and the opinions of residents today. The work was installed during Holy Trinity’s restoration programme, so the necessity for visitors to wear hard hats added an extra dimension to the experience.