Angelica Mesiti: The Rites of When

Angelica Mesiti has created a rich visual and sonic experience for the former wartime oil bunker beneath Naala Badu, the Art Gallery of New South Wales’ north building. The Rites of When is an immersive video and sound installation that reimagines communal rituals connected to seasonal cycles.

Using choreography, vocal choruses, electronic instrumentation and collective sound-making, the Paris-based Australian artist opens a portal between the past and present. Ecstatic celebrations associated with specific moments in the calendar – notably mid-winter solstice carnivals and mid-summer harvest festivals – play out across seven monolithic screens. The Rites of When is also informed by traditions of depicting, describing and understanding life on Earth through the movements of stars.

As nature’s patterns shift and people increasingly live in urban environments, The Rites of When explores the value in new rituals and adaptive pathways for connection.