Moving Pictures at Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple: Residency and Expanded Film Events
Marsh, J. 2026. Moving Pictures at Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple: Residency and Expanded Film Events. Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple 21 Jan 2026
| Creators | Marsh, J. |
|---|---|
| Description | Presented as part of the Coventry Biennial of Contemporary Art, Moving Pictures examines how migrant faith communities across England have adapted former cinemas into active places of worship. Shaped through ritual, spatial agency and everyday devotional practice, these sites operate as forms of living heritage that challenge fixed understandings of British heritage, revealing it instead as plural, embodied and continually evolving. A residency (2024-26) at Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple, housed within the former Redesdale Cinema, explores how Sikh devotional practice enacts living heritage through Paath, Shabad Kirtan and the coordinated rhythms of the sangat (congregation). Developed through the artistic research methodology of site-integrity, the work responds to the temporal and spatial dynamics of worship, with duration, scale and camera movement emerging from the rhythms of prayer itself. A custom-built motorised filming and projection device records the Pooranmashi (full moon celebration) from above the congregation. This elevated perspective was collectively negotiated through religious custom, trust and congregational consent. The architecture of the former cinema remains an active participant within the work, continuing to shape how worship is performed and experienced. In accordance with Sikh practice, the film avoids direct representation of the Guru, attending instead to the congregation, musicians, offerings and the spatial atmosphere of the site. Ethical considerations are embedded within the mechanics of the filming process itself, where image-making operates not as detached observation but as a negotiated expression of the site's spiritual and social order. The installation returns the filmed material to the temple through the same device, preserving scale, duration and spatial relationships so that image, sound and architecture resonate within the site from which they emerged. Coventry Biennial event at Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple on 21st Jan 2026 https://vimeo.com/1158944051, see also https://www.coventrybiennial.com/events/moving-pictures-a-site-speci... Accompanying public events opened the temple to local residents, councillors and visitors, positioning congregation members as hosts, custodians and knowledge holders, while creating opportunities for dialogue around heritage, belonging and cultural continuity. |
| Year | 21 Jan 2026 |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Video File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Files | Image credit David Monteith-Hodge Media type Image File Access Level Open (open metadata and files) |
| Project | Moving Pictures: Residencies and Expanded Film Events |
| Funder | RIBA |
