Key facts
A multipart project consisting of four situated art installations; a virtual platform; and an article on methodology
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) The Assembly project can be viewed at vimeo.com/showcase/8120594 17th Venice Architecture Biennale V&A / Biennale Special Project with Shahed Saleem (postponed to May 2021 due to covid-19)
Additional artwork: Virtual Assembly (2020), an online Visit My Mosque initiative at Old Kent Road Mosque, designed to involve the wider 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
With Jonathan Fuller-Rowell (project technician) and the Inclusive Mosque Initiative and the Muslim Council of Britain (project advisors); Venice/V&A special project curators: Shahed Saleem, Chris Turner (V&A) and Ella Kilgallon (V&A).
COMMISSIONED BY
Virtual Assembly (2020) was commissioned by the Muslim Council of Britain
FUNDING
PILOT (Practical and Innovative Live Outcomes Testing) research funding scheme, University of Westminster, 2019 – £4,000
| 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 | Assembly Exhibition Catalogue |
| Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience | |
| Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces | |
| Virtual Assembly | |
| 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly | |
| British Mosques | |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | University of Westminster |
| Web address (URL) | https://vimeo.com/showcase/8120594/ |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.34737/v844y |
