Turning Weapons Into Bells
On February 14, 2023, National Public Radio (NPR) aired an interview with Washington artist Stephanie Mercedes who has been melting down bullet casings and parts of old guns and transforming them into musical instruments, particularly bells. She has been incorporating these bells into museum exhibits and using them to commemorate victims of violence. In describing her work, she says:
Bells captivate me as a medium because they carry spiritual significance across cultures. Their sound purifies space. At a time when mass shootings regularly rock the country, bells are also tools of mourning.
Her project was inspired by the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida when she first transformed weapons into bells to memorialize the victims of that shooting. The many shootings since then have only strengthened her commitment to her work. Over the years, she has worked with students from schools all over the country to create bell memorials for victims of gun violence. And she has used bells as part of elaborate and beautiful installation soundscapes for museums. As part of those soundscapes, she often uses recordings of the sounds of the weapons being melted in the furnace.
Weapons are usually composed of galvanized steel and aluminum, as well as small amounts of other metals. She has to separate these metals as she melts them so they can be used in casting. In describing the melting process, she says:
There is something very meditative about the process because in that moment, you’re holding this strange, transformed, liquid metal, and you only have a few seconds to pour it into a shape it truly wants to become.
She has created many ceremonies in which shooting victims or relatives of victims melt bullets and turn them into bells, helping them transform their trauma and loss.
Many of her bells are not beautiful. Some resemble the weapons they came from. And some are twisted so they look like primitive relics, something she hopes all guns will one day be. But others are magical when they are part of large installations where they move gently in the air against lovely pieces of glass. Then they gain a majesty that is reminiscent of their universal, spiritual symbolism.
The full article, with the interview with Stephanie and wonderful photos of her work, can be found on the NPR website.
Share your own memories, thoughts, and stories about bells with Jaan at: jaan@thebellsbook.com