On the top of the dome of St. Hedwig’s Cathedral in Berlin is a cross. As each hour struck, a photograph was taken of the inner dome with the glazed, six metre-wide aperture. The sun cast a moving shadow of the cross on the glass.
The series of exposures began at 1.00 p.m. and ended at noon the next day. The final exposure was the only time that the cross could be recognised as a cross.
The sequence was photographed at Easter 2003. The exposure times were short during the day, but during the night they lasted up to an hour. The fascination of making the temporal change visible in a catalogue of the hours was what provided the motivation for this project. In the circadian rhythm of the brightness of the 24 images, taken as each hour struck, a cycle is completed of a shift of perspective of the metal supports and the vaguely visible cross outside on top of the dome.
The 24 images are presented as A4 prints.
The noon image is an Ultrachrome digital print on Plexiglas, format 170 x 155 cm
These works are in the collection of St Hedwig’s Cathedral.
The project received a commendation at the Artheon Art Prizes 2008 of the Gesellschaft für Gegenwartskunst und Kirche – Artheon e.V.
Publications on this project in: