Chronicles of Labour

2021 | 3 minutes of bell tolling several times a day from July 24 until September 5, according to the input of locals | performance view Hochrhein-Triennale Hohentengen (DE)/Kaiserstuhl (CH)

St. Antonius, Hohentengen (DE). The chapel and the church are facing each other on both banks of the Rhine.
St. Antonius, Hohentengen (DE). The chapel and the church are facing each other on both banks of the Rhine.
St. Katharina, Kaiserstuhl (CH)
St. Katharina, Kaiserstuhl (CH)
The ringing times are announced on a board outside the chapel.
The ringing times are announced on a board outside the chapel.

 

6, 11, 16 and 19 o‘clock are the times at which the bells of St. Katharina in Kaiserstuhl ring every day, for several minutes. This is the so-called Angelus ringing, which from the Middle Ages until the middle of the 20th century, in addition to the function of the call to prayer, also had the function of structuring the daily work of the population working in agriculture.
Based on the questions to what extent these prayer times are still relevant today and what meaning they have for today‘s population, Chronicles of Labour takes up this duality and tries to approach our pluralistic working and living worlds of today through individual ringing times. Over a period of 6 weeks, an acoustic portrait of the work realities and activity rhythms of the local population is created: every day, I ring the bells in St. Antonius for a different person in the region, according to their individual specifications. Three minutes of bell ringing, which announces choir rehearsals, joint meetings, yeast activations, animal feedings, meal times, regulars‘ tables, school vacations, work times, aperos, bed times, coffee breaks, visits, …all sorts of human and non-human, formal and informal activities around here.
The work also critically engages with the construct of (wage) work, appreciation of work and questions systemically imposed time regulatory structures.