Good vibrations: living with the motions of our unsettled planet

Abstract

Abstract. By its very nature Earth is unsettled and in continual motion. Earthquakes and volcanoes are an expression of the convective motions of the planet, and our existence on Earth is a consequence of this tectonic activity. Yet, as humans, we often struggle to understand our role in relation to such unpredictable natural phenomena and use different methods to attempt to find order in nature's chaos. In dwelling on the surface of our “unsettled planet”, we adapt and live with a range of ground vibrations, both natural and anthropogenic in origin. Our project, funded by the University of Bristol's Brigstow Institute, seeks to explore how we perceive and understand the shaky ground we live on, using an interdisciplinary approach that brings together the Earth sciences, the history of art and literature, and performance art. Inspired by historical commentary in the aftermath of large earthquakes, which frequently notes the unscheduled ringing of church bells excited by the shaking around them, we reflect on how these purported unscheduled bell-ringing events were caused not only by near earthquakes but also by distant incidents. To investigate this phenomenon, we installed a state-of-the-art broadband seismometer in the Wills Memorial Building tower to record how Great George (the tower bell) responds to the restless world around him. The installed seismometer has been recording activity around and within the tower on a near-continuous basis between late-March 2018 and January 2019. Here, we present the signals recorded by the seismometer as Great George overlooks the hustle and bustle of the city around him and investigate how connected we are to our unsettled planet, even from our tectonically quiet setting in Bristol. We find that the seismometer not only shows the ebb and flow of activity in and around Bristol but also registers earthquakes from as nearby as Lincolnshire, UK, or as far away as Fiji, halfway around the world. In order to contextualize our findings, our project also considers what determines how people have responded to earth-shaking events, drawing on both historical and recent examples, and looks to contemporary art practice to consider how an awareness of our unsettled planet can be communicated in new ways. The project has led to a number of art installations and performances, and feedback from artists and audiences shows how making art can be used to both investigate our connections with the Earth and to articulate (and even accept) the uncertainties inherent in encountering unstable ground.