Sanctus! is a new film installation by Renèe Helèna Browne exploring devotion in relation to portraiture, faith, and belonging. The project borrows its title from the Latin word for ‘holy’, chanted three times by the Prophet Isaiah upon seeing an apparition of God.
Through the roles of onlooker and interviewer, Browne presents a fragmented portrait of rally car culture as a route to finding understanding with their mother Helen. Shot across Ireland over the course of one year, the film work moves through various events, from opening ceremony celebrations, drivers’ preparations, bystanders’ excitements, to race day action, and adjacent diffing competitions.
Weaving through these scenes are encounters between mother and child, as they examine Helen’s relationship with faith, death, and the afterlife.
Sanctus! is a co-commission between the University of Edinburgh Art Collection and Edinburgh Art Festival. At the end of the Festival presentation the work will be acquired by the Art Collection, and be used in the support of research and teaching across the University. This work is generously supported by the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund. Additional production supported by Creative Scotland.
Edinburgh Art Festival
Renèe Helèna Browne: Sanctus!
