Databells | Art Installtion Exhibit

Data Sonification

Digital Art & Music : A Statistical Symphony

Databells turns statistics into music. Each bell rings to the beat of a statistic; some sorrowful, others uplifting . The bells come together, in concert with each other, to give rise to a unique song each time the installation is turned on. The ephemeral design of Databells is core to it's message; that all things are fleeting, and that the only constant is change itself.

The Story

Imagining the Artistic Encounter

Imagine yourself in a dark room, studded with little warm lights, each illuminating a single bell, each unique in size, shape, and purpose. From a fire-alarm bell, to a xylophone, and a gong to a hotel reception desk bell, each bell offers a unique sound. Some ring quickly, and others hardly ring at all - but why?

As you step toward the bells, you are enveloped in their song. They are ringing in a melody you’ve never heard before. As you approach each bell, you notice a little sign that has a statistic on it: 'number of stars born in the universe', or 'packages delivered in the world', or 'deaths by cigarettes'. The melody is the beat of the statistics, it is the rhythm of the world around us, the universe, and each of the ordinary and extraordinary things that are taking place in a given moment.

This is Databells - created by artist Rich Loen. He imagined it in 2019, and spent years collecting a wide assortment of bells, designing mounting devices and ringing mechanisms. In September 2025, Databells debuted at the Salon Des Bananes in Ottawa.

99 Bells

An Eclectic Collection

Over the course of five years, artist Rich Loen collected a wide assortment of bells from all across Canada and around the world. This included bells from his local region in Ottawa, but it also included bells from places like China, India, and Tibet.

Bells are cross cultural, found in every country of the world, and carry a range of meanings. They may represent something joyful like a wedding, or something sorrowful like a funeral, or even something unnerving like a fire alarm.

It was important to Rich to get bells with a story. Each bell in the Databells collection has been photographed and catalogued, and this catalogue is part of the Databells installation as a touchscreen where visitors can select a bell to learn more about it.

100s of Stats

Data Juxtapositions

Databells is connected to dataset of hundreds of statistics, which range in mood from happy to sad to frightening. The statistics also range in their relatability, humour, and sense of awe. For example, a bell might ring to represent the number of packages delivered per minute, while another rings to represent how many stars are born per year.

This dataset has been carefully designed to match the mood of the statistic with the mood of the bell it might get assigned to. The assignment of a statistic changes each time Databells is performed, meaning that bells will ring to a different statistic each time. This assignment is designed to be semi-stochastic, working to give rise to the spontaneous and ephemeral nature of the music generated by the Databells installation.

Debut Vernissage

Salon Des Bananes, Ottawa

On September 20, 2025 the Databells art installation first debuted at a vernissage event at the Salon Des Bananes gallery in Ottawa.

The exhibition then continued for a month, welcoming the public to visit the Databells installation and experience it's performance for themselves. Each time the installation is performed, a new song is created by the bells. All visitors had the chance to experience this ephemeral statistical symphony with their encounter being unique (the song they heard has never before been heard and will never be heard again).