Research insights
Assembly was made with and for the mosque community. The fact that the rig is freestanding meant that the congregation became involved in setting up the equipment for each performance, which gave them a greater sense of ownership. Screening Assembly in the mosque (rather than in a gallery) enabled the congregation to feel it was their project. It also impacted custom and practice within the different communities, enabling men and women to see part of their mosques they had never seen before.
“If Jamaat were to be shown in a gallery, it would take on an entirely different meaning, one we wouldn’t be comfortable with,” said Naima Khan, of the Inclusive Mosque Initiative. “However, the bird’s-eye view used to create the footage – fittingly called the ‘godshot’ in the film industry – shows us ourselves in a unique and unfamiliar way that’s worth experiencing.”
The project built significant links with the local community, especially through a C of E primary school event where over 40 children, staff and parents visited the artwork at the mosque alongside pupils from Brick Lane Madrasah. The openness and confidence of the mosque community helped create a forum for reflection and productive debate. As a result, the mosque was no longer perceived as a “no-go area” outside of the Muslim community; it provided an opportunity for non-Muslims to understand the religious practices taking place, without feeling like voyeurs.
The process of making Assembly went beyond the original intentions in that it reflected the social and cultural structures within each mosque. It was not the initial intention of the work, but raising questions about the separation of worshippers by gender dissolved social boundaries, at least temporally. At Brick Lane, the project has had at least one significant and lasting effect. Women there are now able to pray in the main hall when it isn’t full.
| 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 | |
| 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/ |
| Keywords | CREAM Portfolio |
| Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.34737/v844y |
