Votary: a devoted follower, a term for a person who vows total devotion to an ideology.
Taking the premisses of repetition, trance and craftsmanship as deeply rooted in the development of contemporary technology. Votary - The First Temple, explore the clear commonalities between ritual practices and the ways coding infuses our daily lives.
Establishing analogies between technology and the human corporealities, this 20 minutes, 4 channel installation dissects the primal human tendency of creating external representations of itself as divinities.
Choreographed as a ritual, the four films showcase two dancers performing choreographic scored movements based on the translation of biblical texts into binary codings. The body mechanics counterpoints visuals of robots learning animal-like motions and mannerisms.
Liturgical imagery of washing heads and molding icons share space with holy texts translated into Hexadecimals as voiceovers.
Written, directed and choreographed by Gustavo Gomes
Filmed by Gustavo Gomes and Haris Ajlurahi
Performed by Anna Hamms Süheyla and Gustavo Gomes
Edited by Gustavo Gomes
Music by CIVIC GRACE
Filmed at KOLUMBA, Langen Foundation and Quartier am Hafen
Cologne 2022
Gustavo Gomes & Co.