14 August 2024
It/D, 2023, Lecture Performance, 25 min

Text and film are the result of Heike Baranowsky’s intensive study of the meridian line in the Roman church of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The meridian was laid in front of the altar 320 years ago in order to take astronomical measurements and calculate the dates for Easter in advance. It was laid at a time when the geocentric view of the world was still the doctrine of the church. As an astronomical instrument, however, the meridian was able to prove the opposite.
The film shows the sunspot, or more precisely the image of the sun, as it moves across the floor and the furnishings of the church over the course of an entire year. The soundtrack, spoken live, describes the architectural, historical and political context as well as the narrator’s observations under the special conditions of the Covid pandemic and compares it with previous pandemics such as the Spanish flu.

CAMERA: Volker Gläser, Heike Baranowsky
TEXT: Ursula Rogg
SPEAKERS: Heike Baranowsky, Sophie Hüsler
POSTPRODUCTION: Volker Gläser
SOUNDMIX: Titus Maderlechner