Jamaat at Brick Lane Mosque (2018-9)

Made in collaboration with Brick Lane Jamme Masjid community, Jamaat (2018-19) (translates from Arabic meaning assembly) comprises of two simultaneous installation, one in the main prayer hall and one in the female prayer room. Jamaat has found a way to connect and engage the prayer spaces, allowing access for men and women to both sites. As this research project has evolved the relationship between the two prayer spaces has become a fundamental aspect of the work. The two sites are so different in location, size, atmosphere, yet they are joined by the performance of worship. The monitor in the female prayer room (showing the imam) acts as a portal to the main prayer hall and links both sites in space and time.

Jamaat is made respecting the religious and cultural rules of the mosque and is exhibited following the same rules; the camera is not permitted to film in front of the people praying, nor can it show their faces. Subsequently, a mechanical rig is constructed to film from above, at a constant speed from the entrance to the Mihrab. Pre-recorded footage of prayer is then projected back into the architectural sites using the same automated device. The controlled motorisation of the projection re-traces the movement of the recorded image, giving the effect of only the frame moving through physical space, constantly revealing and concealing the actual site below. The projected image appears to be multi-layered, as the image of the carpet maps with the real carpet, whereas the bodies in prayer become ghostly illusions.

The Jamme Masjid invite the general public into the main prayer hall and female prayer room, providing an opportunity for Muslims and non-Muslims to experience Jumu'ah prayer first hand via the site-performances.