Key facts
A multipart project consisting of four situated art installations and site performances; an interactive virtual site; and two journal articles on methodology. Findings from Assembly have also been exhibited internationally as part of the Three British Mosques exhibition, V&A Pavilion for La Biennale di Venezia 2021 and featured in the publication British Mosques.
Roles
Concept originator, producer and co-ordinator of all projects
Venues
Assembly was made and exhibited in situ at Birmingham Central Mosque (2016) Brick Lane Mosque (2018 –19) Old Kent Road Mosque (2019–20) Harrow Mosque (2020). Assembly was also exhibited at 17th Venice Architecture Biennale V&A / Biennale Special Project with Shahed Saleem, 2021. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/la-biennale-di-venezia-2021
The Assembly project can be viewed at vimeo.com/showcase/8120594 and on the website: site-integrity.com.
Additional artworks
Virtual Assembly (2022), an interactive virtual space for Old Kent Road Mosque due to the demolition and redevelopment of their mosque. Built using 3D software and immersive technologies (VR/AR), the space combines spatial scanning technologies with drawings, audio, film, and speculative design co-created and co-curated by the Old Kent Road Mosque community.
Publication
Also included in the output is Marsh, J (2019), ‘Site-integrity’, Journal for Artistic Research, Issue 19. The article discusses the methodology underpinning Assembly in greater detail
Collaboration
Made in collaboration with Birmingham Central Mosque, Old Kent Road Mosque, Harrow Mosque and Brick Lane Mosque and Associate Partners the Inclusive Mosque Initiative and the Muslim Council of Britain.
Commissioned by
Commissioned by the V&A.
Funding
PILOT (Practical and Innovative Live Outcomes Testing) research funding scheme 2019
| Creators | Marsh, J. |
|---|---|
| Description | Made in collaboration with the different mosque congregations, Assembly uses a programmed device mounted on a six-metre motorised rig. Gliding back and forth on the rig, the device is both “recorder” and “player”: at the end of a shoot, the camera is replaced by a projector and the “film” is ready for playback. The work does more than reproduce prayer: it also “performs” the social and religious structures of the site, making evocative use of 5.1 surround sound to create an uncanny experience. Mapped precisely to the mosque floor, the projected image of the carpet disappears into the real carpet. And the congregation, returning as observers, watch ghostly illusions of themselves at prayer. |
| Portfolio items | Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience |
| Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces | |
| 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly | |
| British Mosques | |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | University of Westminster |
| Web address (URL) | https://vimeo.com/showcase/8120594/ |
| Keywords | CREAM Portfolio |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.34737/v844y |
