Igor De Baecke and I have just finished a most wonderful video installation for the youth church at Hardehausen in Germany. The project is part of a complete rebuilding of the 1960s horror by the great architect Johannes Schilling of Cologne. We were asked to create a video installation on the theme of baptism for the entrance to the church. No richer subject matter exists, and I could mine the theme of rebirth through water for new veins of meaning. A male and then female dancer in foetal position slowly, gracefully unwind their bodies as water, first in drops and then in torrents, falls onto them from above. They stand, stride through the water and are reborn. Drawings in ink mark their bodies, symbolizing original sin and the creating hand of God. The installation plays on nine flat screens situated behind a baptismal font of intense and simple beauty. I am very proud of this creation, which manages to reinterpret an ancient theme and still find new and deeply meaningful resonances for our own time. My thanks to the Archdiocese of Paderborn for the chance to work on such a significant project.
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