I always start my artworks by looking at the traditions within that genre, whether it be ceramics, tapestry, printing or bells, so I have been looking at bells from different cultures for inspiration.
Grayson Perry
Installation view of the Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 21 June – 21 August 2022. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
After being modelled in clay in Grayson’s studio, the ceramic model was scanned in 3D by Gabriel Scarpa and enlarged, 3D printed, moulded and cast in bronze by Pangolin Foundry in Gloucestershire. Pangolin has been an active supporter of the campaign to revitalise bell making and merge the traditional skills with new casting technologies. Factum Foundation worked with Re-Form and other heritage organisations to prove the viability of a new approach to bell making which sought to continue and preserve historical bell-making skills while bringing new technologies, and commissioning world-renowned artists to make editions of bells. Grayson Perry’s first commission marks the start of the revival of bell making in the UK.
The ceramic Covid Bell nearing completion in Grayson Perry’s studio © Grayson Perry
The 3D model of the Covid Bell © Factum Arte
Moulding of Grayson Perry’s Covid Bell at Pangolin Foundry © Pangolin Foundry
The Covid Bell heralds both a new demand for bells and a new financial model. The dependence on church bells, a dwindling market with small profit margins, has been strangling traditional bell-making. Factum’s new model of working with the world’s greatest artists to produce bells means they will have a value way above their production cost. The sale of these bells will support traditional bell-making and ensure the continuity of the same artisanal skills that have been practiced continuously in Whitechapel since the casting of the 12th-century bells in Westminster Abbey and earlier.
During the casting of Grayson’s bell, a film was also in the making about Nigel Taylor, who will demonstrate every stage in the sand and loam method, an act immortalised in the bell-making scene in Tarkovsky’s 1966 film Andrei Rublev.
A film by Steve Russell Studios
First casting of the bell © Pangolin Editions
Ready for tuning, with other bells © Nicholson Engineering
Members of the public visiting the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in London (21 June – 21 August, 2022) were invited to ring the Covid Bell.
Installation view of the Summer Exhibition 2022 at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 21 June – 21 August 2022. Photo: © Royal Academy of Arts, London / David Parry
The Covid Bell was also on display at Founders Hall during the 2022 open house © Founders Hall
