Pestera — Site-integrity

Pestera

Ialomitei Monastery, Romania

^{Working in
collaboration with the monastic community a site-specific
installation was made and exhibited in the Ialomitei Monastery, an Orthodox
Christian temple in Romania. Every inch of the ceiling dome is
spectacularly decorated with paintings, and it was agreed that anything above
the altar could be filmed during the Eucharistic service. A motorised filming
mast was designed and constructed
within the monastery to extend to a height of 7.3m and slowly retract while
filming the ceiling. The camera faces upwards for the
entire film slowly revealing
the ceiling dome and architecture of the space, as the perspective alters so
does the perception of the space. The recorded footage is then
projected back onto the ceiling using the same motorized rig allowing the film
representation to map the real architectural site drawing our attention to the
symbolic readings of the site. The
chanting and choral singing, the incense, and the ritual movements of the
priest and acolytes are all captured by the sound recorder attached to the
filming rig. As the sound recorder physically moves through the space the
acoustics affect the sound recording and subsequent playback.}

^{< Back Next >}