Procession is a visual, walking prayer for which five individual performers spread across the city stage an assemblage of typical religious gestures. As a visitor, you may stumble on them by chance. But when the church bells ring, you will find them all gathered at Wijngaardplein. Then the procession—intended as a contemporary alternative to the Holy Blood Procession—begins. This procession is focused more on meaning and the ability to believe. It is an alternative that transcends the purely illustrative nature of the Holy Blood Procession to give spectators the opportunity to surrender to a spiritual experience. For the makers, faith is a tool for learning how to relate to one’s own inner reality, and prayer is an opportunity for temporary surrender, creating room for new perspectives. Procession aims to be more than a procession. It is an invitation to visitors and locals alike to give themselves over in heart and mind to a mystical experience.
Procession
Theme
Every year, on Ascension Day, the Holy Blood Procession passes through the historic city centre of Bruges. This tradition originated in 1304 and is included in the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage list. Thousands of participants walk in the procession, act out biblical scenes and venerate the relic of the Holy Blood of Christ. Thousands of spectators flock to the city from all over the world for the occasion. When Nadav Perlman and Rino Sokol witnessed the famous event, they were struck by how colourful and large-scale the procession was – and how little room that left for intimacy, spirituality and introspection. They decided to create their own version in order to reflect their belief that the ability to believe in something is more important than the belief itself.
Credits
Creation Nadav Perlman, Rino Sokol
Fashion Nadav Perlman
Performance Lisah Adeaga, Sam Beerens, Isaac Butler, Francesca Chiodi Latini, Nathan Christiaensen, Harlette de Ree, fyllenia grigoriou, Hernán Mancebo, Elisabeth Nienhuis, Marie Pien, Lukas Rys, Rino Sokol, Lao Verdonckt, François Vincent en Flóra Virág
Music Wim Berteloot, Piotr Kozakiewicz, Anse Kuyl en Denis Wouters
Production-assistant Judith Ameel
Coproduction Reiefestival en ilBrigata/Rino Sokol
Nadav Perlman (°1996) is an art director who works in fashion, performance art and film. He runs his own fashion label and is a guest professor in the fashion department of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Nadav Perlman was born in Israel and grew up in the mountains of Galilee, a unique crossroads for a wide variety of cultures and traditions, each with its own unique clothing, crafts and connection to the land. His background has a strong influence on Perlman’s work: it tells a story about the world we live in and raises topics that are important to him.
Rino Sokol (°1992) is an actor, performer and theatre maker. He devises solo and collaborative shows together with friends and artists. He studied performing arts at the Antwerp Royal Conservatory (KCA) and is a film and television actor. As a guest lecturer, he works in the drama department of KCA and at the Split Art Academy (UMAS). His work often derives from a playful exploration of his own bodily impulses, using all the possible physical forms of expression to create a very personal tension. The element of chance is also welcome in his performances, and he shows decision-making happening in real time.
