Did you take pictures of the images made from the sawdust?
Yes, I did.
In the beautiful preserved baroque town of Ouro Preto local people work through the night to carpet the Resurrection Procession route for hundred metres, with Easter motifes made out of coloured sawdust. These decorations make for a unique spectacular at Easter.
I though it would be a great idea to promote this event organizing an exhibition abroad with this unique theme.
Well, the process wasn’t something easy to go through. The idea was to organize literally a photographic procession. The first step was to find a flat material to print an image. I did not want to go for traditional photographic prints.
Eventually I found the R35 Company in the heart of Dublin, which unfortunately closed down a few years later. At that time, the process to print an image straight to a flat PVC board was quite new and I was impressed with the quality of the material and happy enough to go ahead with this supplier.
The second was to find a company who could made a thick wooden stick to be attached to the back of each image, making it possible to hold the banner.
The third and last part was to get the base for the wooden stick for the banner.
I remember seeing some construction work being carried out at Trinity College. I approached one of the builders who were in charge and he donated some bricks. I used the bricks to construct Individual stands to hold each image.
When all the 20 banners was erected at the church, candles had been allocated around each display creating a warm and relaxing atmosphere
What was your concept behind turning the images in the sawdust into images that were to be carried in procession?
We are talking about a catholic event in Ouro Preto; very widely respected. With lots of pilgrims attending the holy celebration, people coming from long distances to enjoy the event. This was a unique opportunity to see the beautiful work made by the local people. I was there with my camera and I knew if I had to exhibit the images it should be in a different format. When the pilgrims were walking in a procession trough the sawdust making a pathway, I thought of the idea for a different type of procession one where the individuals held the images taken of the religious procession.
How did the people involved respond to the images, and the procession?
Respect and admiration, two words to translate them all. The procession happened inside of Trinity College Chapel. The photos pictured the gospel words. The chaplain selected a suitable gospel to be read out during the celebration.
was responsible for pick extracts from the gospel to be reading during the solemner celebration. The chorus sang beautifully, it was a day to bless the palms.
The banners were split into 5 groups. The Capoeira Group in Dublin was responsible for the flow of the control. I held the last banner and found it a very emotional experience. The congregates were amazed with it all. When the ceremony was over I had the chance to chat with the guests and had very positive feed back from them. People were extremely curious about the Ouro Preto town, the process with sawdust and etc.
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