RAIN BELL
2026
Real-time networked installation
Documentary video, remote rain sensor, web-based visualization, 12-channel sound
Documentary: 5 min 30 sec
Video Installation: variable duration
Overview
The project revolves around a bell that no longer exists. According to the memories of elderly villagers, there was once a Dragon King Temple in the village, and the large bell in front of the temple was closely connected to rain-praying rituals and local beliefs. During the nationwide steelmaking campaign of the Great Leap Forward in 1958, the bell was collected as a metal resource and melted down, becoming part of the broader narrative of national industrialization.
The disappearance of the bell meant not only the loss of a material object, but also a rupture in local ritual, collective memory, and the relationship between people and belief. Rain Bell places a rain sensor in the village, transforming rainfall at the site into data and transmitting it through a network in real time to trigger the image and sound of the bell.
In this way, the work allows a disappeared bell to reappear as a networked and temporal presence—when rain is actually falling, its presence can be sensed remotely across different locations.
Historical Context
Quan'ergou Village, Pinglu, Shuozhou, Shanxi, China
Oral-history interviews / site survey / video documentation / mapping
Interviewees: Wanfu Hei, Houan Liu, Mingzhang Hei, Yinzhang Hei
Oral testimonies concerning the Dragon King Temple, the rain-praying bell, and related rituals, including sketches of the bell drawn by the interviewees from memory.
Traces of Iron Smelting
Danzi Shan Village, Pinglu, Shuozhou, Shanxi, China
Remains of locally constructed iron-smelting pits from the 1958 steel-making campaign.
Rain Sensor System
Installed in Quan'ergou Village, the system continuously records rainfall and transmits the data to a remote server.
System: Rain sensor / ESP32 with Wi-Fi / solar panel / battery power system
Installation: Stainless-steel support / concrete footing
Operation: 24/7
Data
Archived rainfall data from the remote sensor, organized by date and timestamp on the cloud server.
Documentary & Audiovisual
Exhibition
RAIN BELl at the V&A, London
18-20 September 2026
V&A Digital Design Weekend
Cromwell Road, South Kensington
London SW7 2RL
About Exhibition
RAIN BELl at Goldsmiths, London
13-15 August 2026
Computational Arts Degree Show
Goldsmiths, University of London
New Cross
London, SE14 6NW