The Holy See Gets It
The title, The Holy See Gets It, quotes Monsignor Charles Scicluna, the Vatican’s former sex crimes prosecutor, and the work addresses the devastating 2014 report by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child into the Vatican’s handling of the clerical sexual abuse of children.
Apparently simple, the work melds words excerpted from the UNCRC report with choral music within the tradition of the Catholic Church, raising questions about the distance maintained between the Vatican and the victim, and the traditions that enable the church to continue to claim moral authority day to day.
The work challenges the institutional nature of the large religions and the extent to which they have accepted what has happened; this problem does not only exist within the Catholic Church.
The Holy See Gets It performance at Arte Laguna, Venice.
In March 2016, The Holy See Gets It was announced winner of the ‘video art and performance’ catetory at the Arte Laguna Art Prize in Venice. The jury’s statement praised Wolter for his ‘ability to analyse and deal with a current social issue in an original and brilliant way. The performance turns out to be a complete research work in every aspect: the music, the text, the critical use of a sacred element.’
The Holy See Gets It was previously performed at Art Language Location, Cambridge in 2015.
CREDITS:
- Music by Chloe Evans, choir leader: Sue Flynn, performed at Arte Laguna Art Prize, March 2016, filmed and produced by Jonnie Howard Film, audio recording by Dale Suttle