Merkavah is described in mystical texts as 'the Devine Chariot' or 'vehicle through the heavens'. Geometrically, it's visualized by two pyramids intersecting one another with one pointing up and the other down (like the Star of David). The center is of a hexagonal shape.
We designed a hexagonal mirrored space (see "Making Of" below), which only reflects from the inside. These special mirrors made it possible for us to film through the structure and capture the dance from 6 different angles simultaneously and reflecting in multiple layers. I ended up with a lot of footage, making an edit for a single screen for television in 2002. 5 years after broadcasting the film, the club 11 space gave me the opportunity to make a 6 screen video installation of Merkavah. This meant that we finally could present the work as it was shot, synchronous from different angles. I edited the movements of the dance with time-remaps over the different screens, to emphasize the traveling through the heavens - 'the body through the geometry'.
The Hebrew word Merkabah (מרכבה "chariot", derived from the consonantal root r-k-b with general meaning "to ride") is used in Ezekiel (1:4-26) to refer to the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" (Hebrew: "living creatures"), each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle.
The Kinetic Interface blog on Great Dance starts with the premise that by focusing on the body and movement we can better understand, engage with, and contribute to many of the technological and scientific changes that are reshaping our daily lives.
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Madonna explained this to me...
The Hebrew word Merkabah (מרכבה "chariot", derived from the consonantal root r-k-b with general meaning "to ride") is used in Ezekiel (1:4-26) to refer to the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" (Hebrew: "living creatures"), each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle.
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