Palestine has a long, long history of excellence in glass making which continues triumphantly into the present. Look no further for instance than the stunning glass works by Dima Srouji, and other Palestinian artists like those at Hebron Glass, which bend and warp the material in mind boggling fashion.Artists like Srouji, Hebron Glass, and others weave ancient glass techniques used by the Phoenicians to make contemporary, beautifully crafted objects that often double as political statements which pertain to Israeli occupation, loss, resistance, solidarity, and cultural memory. A trio of architects and musiciansTomoko Sauvage; and Elias Anastas and Yousef Anastas, cofounders of AAU Anastascarried this important legacy on their shoulders recently with a new immersive installation they built in northern France called Serpentine Bell.Elias Anastas and Yousef Anastas are both architects based in Bethlehem, Palestine, while Sauvage is a Japanese musician who lives in Paris. Serpentine Bell is sited in a sculpture garden in Reims, France, at the company headquarters of Ruinarta collaborative master plan recently completed by Sou Fujimoto, Christophe Gautrand, and Gwenal Nicolas.The art object is essentially one large bell made of 103 glass blown voussoirs. (Makoto Chill kubo)Serpentine Bell consists of a stone, steel, and sound systema clear manifestation of the design teams multifaceted skillset that combines architecture and music, and penchant for politics.Palestine is a meeting point of accumulated knowledge of civilizations, the trio said in a curatorial statement. Its rich and perpetuating history of material explorations in the field of glass and stone is the basis for this collaboration, which engages these materials in metaphorical and cross-productive contexts with a local history of sound, architecture and music emerging from peoples long standing life and work with the land with global implications. Through these materials, the installation speaks to the delicacy of matter, and the history of techniques, places, backgrounds, and contexts that form a global and interdependent solidarity network of knowledge, the artists continued. The organic, fluid, oscillating, fluctuating morphologies evoked by the encounter of water, stone, glass and sound are at the heart of the collaboration.Tomoko leaned upon her interest in water, bubbles, sound, and bowls for Serpentine Bell. (Makoto Chill kubo)The artwork glistens in the sunlight. (Makoto Chill kubo)The artwork can be understood as one large bell made of 103 glass blown voussoirs, set on a stone base, hoisted a few feet above the ground on three legs. Its just tall enough so that you can bend over, peak your head inside, and enjoy its kaleidoscopic interior. The stereotomic techniques Serpentine Bell employed derive from ongoing research on stone by AAU Anastasthe art, architecture, and media practice of Elias and Yousef Anastas. At AAU Anastas, the pair explores the potential for structural stone to reemerge in contemporary architecture, combining traditional craftsmanship and materials with modern construction techniques. They also operate a radio station, Radio Alhara, which has played an important role in current Palestinian resistance movements, namely the #SaveSheikhJarrah revolt in 2021.Likewise, Tomoko leaned upon her interest in water, bubbles, sound, and bowls for Serpentine Bell. The juxtaposition between glass and stone created a contrast between weightlessness and heaviness, opacity and transparency, emptiness and content.Serpentine Bell is just tall enough for visitors to step inside. (Makoto Chill kubo)Palestine being a meeting point of accumulated knowledge of civilizations, it has a long standing perpetuating history of material explorations, in particular in the field of glass and stone, the artists added. Paradoxicallyin view of the intentional isolation imposed by occupation forces in Palestineit is the extreme richness of know-hows of techniques anchored in Palestinian artisanship that allowed [the artists] to meet and contribute further to a global solidarity network.