Mater Mea
2007
video installation
video on DVD
8:30, sound
Videos
2011 © rinihurkmans
The film shows a walk/procession through a city and is based on two components: a video film made in China of laundry you see hanging over the streets, accompanied by procession music – performed by the oldest brass band in the south of the Netherlands – Mater Mea, 1962, by the Spanish composer Ricardo Dorado Janeiro.
The music is of a procession because the tempo is much lower then normal marching music. The character is static but not sad, rather lyrical and devotional.
Laundry indirectly refers to people, who are not shown in the film, but one gets a feeling of how life is in such a large city. There also is a reference to the person who looks after things, takes care of everything, the mother.
Laundry outside, waving in the wind, is a kind of ritual. One does hear the compelling music but not its performers. So the emphasis is put on the aspect of ritual.
The starting point of this film is the artist’s memories and reflections on different cultures and traditions, searching for common qualities.