Angelica Mesiti
Rapture (Silent Anthem)
8 December–2 March 20138 Dec–2 Mar 2013
Many Christian faiths believe that, at the end time, God will directly uplift into Heaven all true believers still alive. This is called the ‘Rapture’. For her ten-minute silent video Rapture (Silent Anthem), Sydney-born artist Angelica Mesiti filmed fresh-faced teenagers in the mosh pit at a rock concert. Shot in slow motion, from a concealed location beneath the stage, her tightly cropped footage suggests a scene of collective religious fervour and spiritual transport—you can’t tell that it was filmed at a concert. We see kids lost in their worship of rock gods performing just out of reach. Eyes open wide, sunlight reflects off beautiful young limbs, water thrown into the air mixes with sweat, hands clap and wave. Scrambling the spiritual and the secular, Rapture took out the $20,000 Blake Prize for Religious Art in 2009. It was the first video work to ever win.