Die Reise nach Jerusalem

The title is a German version of the game of Musical Chairs and translates as 'The Journey to Jerusalem'. Although the title originally referred to the hardship of pilgrimage, in the light of the current political situation in Israel and Palestine, the competitive nature of this game addresses the dominant issue of space and power.

For the duration of three hours the process is to walk repetitiously between a mosque and a synagogue near Regents Park, London. Through this act the close proximity of these two places will be undergoing a description of distance. The short space between the two points is framed by sites such as the Lord's Cricket Ground, a war memorial and the 'Ramada Hotel', amongst other details. Within the planned trajectory the reading of representational space in relation to world conflict takes on a new meaning.

Susanne Radmann
(June 2002)

This performance is part of the research and development stage of A Generative Grammar of the Legs: a Mobile Conference on Walking, planned to take place in and between cafés in the east end of London.