Sacer Dolor

2010
Martin Luther Church, Cologne, Germany

Series Triduum Sacrum

The series Triduum Sacrum is composed of the installation Sacra Fames (sacred hunger), the installation Sacra sitis (sacred thirst) and the performance Sacer Dolor (scared pain).

The central idea of ​​this visual work are existential experiences of human being: thirst, hunger, pain. Three experiences, which for me are valid as sacred.

Weeks before, the people of the community donated glasses from their homes, Brötchen (typical German bread) and also wrote on a list the names of their friends and relatives which have been victims of sexual abuse by religious. This list was transcribed onto a long white cloth.

Sacra sitis is a large format installation, in which I spread flour in the middle of the church, also the baptismal font. On the altar I put empty glasses and other glasses filled with animal blood and then covered everything with white cloths.

During the Performance Sacer Dolor I wash my whole body with holy water and then I unroll the before mentioned long white cloth with the names of the sufferers. Later I remove the white cloth that covered the empty and full cups (filled with animal blood from the Slaughterhouse) that were arranged on the altar. Then I pull hard on the white cloths on which the glasses rested. The glasses jump off and pieces of glass are flying in all directions. The spectators are shocked.

Miraculously, the glass splinters did not hurt me. It's incredible! All around my bare feet there are pieces of glass but my feet remain unhurt.

Photo-Documentation: Simon Vogel
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