MISERICORDIA
Kinetic installation, 2016. Water, plastic foil, Machine, steel wire, misericorde dagger. 9.45x 5.46 x 6.58 m.
The floor of a room was covered with a plastic foil and then flooded in order to create a mirror. A “misericorde” dagger was suspended from a machine installed on the ceiling. The machine moved back and forth, causing the dagger to swing across the room. The dagger cutted the water surface on its path at the center of the room. A slight asymmetry in the dagger’s blade generated variations in the pendular movement.
The Misericorde (derived from the latin Misericordia “act of mercy”) daggers were used from the Middle Ages until the 16th century to end the sufferings of seriously wounded soldiers by delivering a death stroke. They were used both for friends and enemies. The thin blade is designed to strike between the gaps of a knight’s armour plates.
Misericordia was presented for my "Meisterschüler"(MA) degree exam at the Berlin University of the Arts.