Dunhill and O'Brien

In Nov 2006 Dunhill and O’Brien spent 3 days examining and contemplating an excavation of a hole on the site of a Cistercian Abbey. The hole, which was originally dug by itinerant bell founders in the 11th Century, was the pit for casting the Abbey’s bell. It was later used as a burial site for monks, being consecrated ground within the Abbey’s buildings.

Situated in a remote agricultural area the Abbey’s bell was rung principally to mark the monks’ daily routines. It also served to exert the Church’s authority (as the principle keeper of time) over a wide geographical area.

The work that Dunhill and O’Brien exhibited in 2008 as part of the exhibition Just World Order, comprised of 3 parts, Object – a tailor made lining formed in the bell pit; Walk – a guidebook for a walk that set out to mark the distance that the sound of the 40 diameter medieval bell would have travelled with the gallery as the location of the bell tower; and Phone – a mobile phone with a ringtone of a recorded bell chime (from a bell of a similar size, weight and shape) that rang intermittently throughout the exhibition.

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