An ever-growing collection of statements of belief.
Thousands of spoken contributions made by hundreds of individuals from all ages and walks of life are organised into a detailed web of beliefs.
The work is a living container for the stories we tell ourselves to help define our individual and collective reality.
Working with local communities, we collect thousands of beliefs which are then sorted into thematic flocks and programmed to whisper from speakers while flowing above and around the listener. A purpose-built, multi-channel speaker system controlled by dozens of micro-computers allows these flocks to weave through the space, building patterns, rhythms and intersections.
The direction, speed and movement of each belief is governed by live weather data fed directly from a rooftop weather station into the system.
Despite its complexity, the entire technical system has been designed to tour, traveling with the artists in standard suitcases.
Suspended on a shimmering tangle of copper wire, sonically precise speaker housings hang like inverted ear trumpets, inviting visitors to eavesdrop on this chorus of human conviction.
Accompanying this aurally and visually immersive space is a companion book where the flocks of beliefs are transcribed to printed form—offering a quiet moment that invites visitors to connect in a different way.
Belief System is a scalable work suited to site specific interiors as well as galleries and halls. For presentation, existing content is replaced or augmented with local content (including multilingual content} and visitors to the installation can also share their Beliefs to become part of the system.
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Belief System was first presented in the main hall the Substation , Melbourne (a converted power substation) in May 2023.
Subsequently, in March 2024, beliefs collected locally were incorporated and it was presented at Chapter Arts, Cardiff, UK.
It was a finalist in the Blake Prize, 2024.
Promotional Reel, cardiff, 2024.
