Bill Viola @The Chapel
Installation view
Bill Viola, Purification, 2005
Rear projected color high-definition video diptych
Projected image size size: 87 3/4 x 102 3/8 in. (223 x 260 cm)
Room dimensions: 16 ft 5 in. x 16 ft 5 in. x 23 ft (5 x 5 x 7 m)
52:10 minutes
Performers: Jeff Mills, Lisa Rhoden
Photographer credit: Kira Perov,
Courtesy of The Artist, The Ella , Aedan & Darya Collection and Blain|Southern
In Purification, a man and a woman independently undertake the ritual preparations for a symbolic sacrifice required for their transformation and rebirth. This process methodically unfolds in seven contiguous image sequences across a time span of 50-minutes. The individual sections are: The Approach; The Arrival; The Disrobing; Ablutions; Basin of Tears; The Cleansing; and Dissolution. The images are silent and are rear projected as a large diptych on two adjacent screens embedded in the wall. [Source: Bill Viola: Love/Death: The Tristan Project, Haunch of Venison, 2006]