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

CreatorsMarsh, 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.
Created and projected in each one of four mosques, Assembly enhanced the congregation’s self-awareness of the act of worship. The project highlights the social and architectural diversity of mosques in Britain, raising questions about social boundaries, while creating an opportunity for mosques to connect with the wider community.
The Venice installation of Assembly will include five films and interviews generated by the Assembly project, plus detailed 3D scans of Old Kent Road and Brick Lane mosques. Both films and scans will enter the V&A collection as permanent digital artefacts as a record of a significant period of informal religious architecture.

Portfolio itemsSite-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
Year2020
PublisherUniversity of Westminster
Web address (URL)https://vimeo.com/showcase/8120594/
KeywordsCREAM Portfolio
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.34737/v844y

Portfolio items

Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience
Marsh, J. 2019. Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience. Journal for Artistic Research. Issue 19 19. https://doi.org/10.22501/jar.596787

Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces
Marsh, J. 2018. Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces. Scene. 6 (2), pp. 133-151. https://doi.org/10.1386/scene_00014_1

Virtual Assembly
Marsh, J. 2021. Virtual Assembly .

2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly
Marsh, J. 2020. 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly. VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE May - Sep 2021

British Mosques
Marsh, J. Saleem, S., Turner, C. and Kilgallon, E. (ed.) 2021. British Mosques. Foolscap Editions.

Related outputs

Assembly: Investigating the Role That Artist Fieldwork Can Play in Islamic Sites of Worship
Marsh, Julie 2024. Assembly: Investigating the Role That Artist Fieldwork Can Play in Islamic Sites of Worship. Architecture and Culture. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/20507828.2024.2336325

Performing the Symbiotic Relationship Between the Adapted Mosque and its Congregation
Marsh, J. 2024. Performing the Symbiotic Relationship Between the Adapted Mosque and its Congregation. in: Lamb, T. and Wang, C. (ed.) Negotiating Identities, Language and Migration in Global London: Bridging Borders, Creating Spaces London Multilingual Matters. pp. 170-186

Site-integrity: An embedded and embodied approach to practice-based research
Marsh, J. 2023. Site-integrity: An embedded and embodied approach to practice-based research. Scene. 11 (1-2), pp. 7-20. https://doi.org/10.1386/scene_00061_1

Virtual Assembly
Marsh, J. 2021. Virtual Assembly .

British Mosques
Marsh, J. Saleem, S., Turner, C. and Kilgallon, E. (ed.) 2021. British Mosques. Foolscap Editions.

Jamaat at Harrow Mosque (2020)
Marsh, J. 2020. Jamaat at Harrow Mosque (2020). Harrow Mosque 16 - 16 Oct 2020

Jamaat at Old Kent Road Mosque (2019-20)
Marsh, J. 2020. Jamaat at Old Kent Road Mosque (2019-20) . 20 Jun 2020

2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly
Marsh, J. 2020. 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale - Three British Mosques/Assembly. VENICE ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE May - Sep 2021

Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience
Marsh, J. 2019. Site-integrity: a dynamic exchange between site, artist, device and audience. Journal for Artistic Research. Issue 19 19. https://doi.org/10.22501/jar.596787

Assembly: catalogue of research findings
Marsh, J. 2019. Assembly: catalogue of research findings. London Shelter Press, France.

Jamaat at Brick Lane Mosque (2018-9)
Marsh, J. 2018. Jamaat at Brick Lane Mosque (2018-9) . Brick Lane Mosque Oct - Nov 2018

Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces
Marsh, J. 2018. Assembly: Performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces. Scene. 6 (2), pp. 133-151. https://doi.org/10.1386/scene_00014_1

Assembly: Artist Talk at Closeup Film Centre
Marsh, J. 2018. Assembly: Artist Talk at Closeup Film Centre. Julie Marsh.

Salat at Birmingham Central Mosque (2016-17)
Marsh, J. 2017. Salat at Birmingham Central Mosque (2016-17). Birmingham Central Mosque 06 - 06 May 2016

Lokomotywownia (2016)
Marsh, J. 2017. Lokomotywownia (2016). Płaszów, Poland 10 - 24 Feb 2017

Assembly: performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces
Marsh, J. 2016. Assembly: performing the materiality of Muslim prayer spaces. University of Westminster.

Pestera (2015)
Marsh, J. 2015. Pestera (2015). Atelier Contemporary Art Space, Bucharest 21 - 28 Jul 2017

Permalink - https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/portfolio/v844y/assembly


Detail of automated filming device during congregational prayer at Brick Lane Mosque.
Detail of automated filming device during congregational prayer at Brick Lane Mosque.
Documentation of site performance for local school children in main prayer hall at Brick Lane Mosque
Documentation of site performance for local school children in main prayer hall at Brick Lane Mosque
Three British Mosques Exhibition at Venice Biennale 2021
Three British Mosques Exhibition at Venice Biennale 2021
Congreation members attend site performance at Old Kent Road Mosque
Congreation members attend site performance at Old Kent Road Mosque