untitled (79)
There are mental shrines that we build for the departed. Other times, it is us who are the departed but still, the process of cultivating the memory of someone we care about is the same. We built ourselves a mental place where each day we carefully deposit our good thoughts. The whole process reminds me at some point of the passing rites that exist in all religions where the helpless relatives watch over the dying person asking in their silent prayers for an easy passing as there is nothing else they can do anymore. Untitled (79) deals with this process in which these mantric prayers become just as much of a comfort for the one who says them as for the person they are dedicated to. It is a way to deal with one's self traumatic departing.
Technically, the work consists of an over sized projection in relation with the space hosting it (the maximum distance allowed for perception should always be under the comfort limit) and a series of speakers evenly spread around the space so that no matter where you are in the space you are constantly surrounded by 3 or 4 sources of sound. Each speaker corresponds to a different channel carrying a different recorded voice. The voices are whispered prayers collected from different religious practices in the rite of passing.