This work was created as part of a competition on the theme of ‘Paradise’; that was in early 2002. The world was still in the shadow of the events of 11 September – or at least the world in which I lived. It was also during this period that the US invaded Afghanistan. The connection was not so easy to discern. Comparisons were drawn with a crusade. And I asked myself about the traditions of pictorial representations of
battle and war. For this, I chose the form of a pictorial frieze as a long narrative. The images were depictions of crusaders in films and the media images shown daily from war zones. In this way, epic films and news reports could become indistinguishable.
The images were displayed in a separate room above eye level. This was modelled on depictions such as the Bayeux Tapestry, which is famous as a battle scene. The room was narrow and had the basic shape of a cross, like a simplified church interior – a basilica with a chancel and side aisles.
This is actually the first work that is both a spatial and visual essay.
Moreover, I was not yet entirely clear on these terms.