Gogmagog: Voices of the Bells is a new sound installation created by artist Matt Stokes. The installation, sited in the nave of the historic Holy Trinity Church in Sunderland, reinterprets a peal rung on it’s bells in 1898. Whilst the bells are currently silenced due to the condition of the bell tower, a new version of the peal has been given life by local composers, bell ringers, musicians, singers and choirs, drawing lyrics from the story of the church’s historical social roles, paralleled by the thoughts, hopes and fears of the community who inhabit Old Sunderland.

'Gogmagog' is part of a research project, ‘Mapping Contemporary Art in the Heritage Experience’, which is exploring how contemporary art might change visitors’ experience of a heritage site. As a group of researchers from Newcastle and Leeds Universities we are interested in finding out whether creating and siting new art in heritage places can change the ways in which these important places are understood and enjoyed.