THE RITUAL
2015
Full HD video | 16:9 | 7.47 min. | color | sound



The Ritual relates to the mundane ritual culture in Hinduism. We see a minimalist sculpture by the Ganges, installed before daybreak at a site that attracts many devout visitors. The object, though alien to the setting, draws no skepticism from the pilgrims, who soon integrate it into their morning rituals and adapt it as a religious object. The unscripted scenes of quotidian ritual actions play out amid the bustling crowd: butter candles are lighted, censers are swung, the sculpture is daubed with colorful pigments and festooned with sacrificial flowers. Within mere hours the object’s monochrome surface bears rich decorations, and a minimalist sculpture has been transformed into a sacred object in whose presence "darshana" is sought and perhaps experienced as well.



Concept / Camera / Edited: Kay Walkowiak
Postproduction: Manuel Hartmann
Production Assistants: Rajkumar Singh
Special Thanks: Austrian Cultural Forum New Delhi, Kriti Gallery Varanasi
Supported by: Federal State of Salzburg 



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