Developed under Damage Control, a brief which began with the investigation of a selected form of damage.
For better or for worse;
First, the couples fast for a week before participating in a chastening ceremony. Here, Father dictates that they hit each other three times on the backside.
Then, they drink holy wine to cleanse themselves.
And since woman is the first to sin, the wife to be is the first to drink.
Afterward, they get married in a mass wedding. Father blesses the couples, all wearing the same suits, the same gowns, carrying the same flowers.
And after the wedding, the pair spends at least 40 days apart. During this time, they pray, reflect, repent.
Finally, the ritual concludes in a three-day ceremony where the couple consummates the marriage. They set up an altar before cleaning themselves with holy handkerchiefs.
Then for three days, they have sex in prescribed positions—the woman is on top for the first two days. But on the last day, the man is atop. Because, ultimately, the doctrine dictates wives subjugate to their husbands.
Then, they drink holy wine to cleanse themselves.
And since woman is the first to sin, the wife to be is the first to drink.
Afterward, they get married in a mass wedding. Father blesses the couples, all wearing the same suits, the same gowns, carrying the same flowers.
And after the wedding, the pair spends at least 40 days apart. During this time, they pray, reflect, repent.
Finally, the ritual concludes in a three-day ceremony where the couple consummates the marriage. They set up an altar before cleaning themselves with holy handkerchiefs.
Then for three days, they have sex in prescribed positions—the woman is on top for the first two days. But on the last day, the man is atop. Because, ultimately, the doctrine dictates wives subjugate to their husbands.
Written into this doctrine are ideas of women as object, women as bodily pleasure, women only as childbearers.
The Unification Church represents damage in the form of an ideology and specifically, women as a site of damage.
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And while a Korean church may seem far removed, on July 1 1982, 2075 women from the church were married by Moon in a mass ceremony in Madison Square Garden, all wearing the same satin gowns handmade by the church.
The project is built around reclaiming, retooling, and countering
the objects, the rituals, and the site of the mass wedding.
It unfolds in two phases—
the objects, the rituals, and the site of the mass wedding.
It unfolds in two phases—
One - Ritual & Reclamation
Couples arrive at Madison Square Garden together and head to the booths on the floor. There, they can deposit their wedding rings and wives can drop-off their gowns and receive a key to a divorce suite. The men leave and a garment conveyer sends the collected materials to the upper lounges.
Two - Remembrance
<IMAGE OF EXHIBITION>The output created in Phase One is then be used in Phase Two which takes the form of an installation that showcases the wedding gowns. Visitors are able to weave through the dresses and experience them up close.
Each gown represents one body, one individual woman, and conveys her unique story, shedding light on the church's harmful practices.
Through textile arts like sewing, needlework, screen-printing, women are empowered with the necessary skills to relay their narratives.
As the gowns are altered by the women, they regain their agencies, their individualities, and their voices to tell their story.
Ultimately, the entire proposal exists as a platform for these women to come together, to share their unspoken truths, shed light on their experiences, and eventually, reconcile with what they lost to the church.