Jumpers (What must I do to be saved)

Jumpers (What must I do to be saved) is a large-format video installation, with music by Warren Ellis. The piece takes inspiration from the religious practice of ‘jumping’ as a form of worship. ‘Jumping’ was performed over the course of 200 years from the 18th Century by English, Welsh and American Protestant Christians. It was a physical response to a religious state that words could not express – and a phenomenon known to be contagious within a group. The actions and emotions of the ‘Jumpers’ can be found echoed in various forms of contemporary culture – from the mosh-pits to raves, we see the convulsive and possessed movement of people shifting from agony to ecstasy.

The work documents a live experiment in manipulation and compliance. Working with 35 strangers and a hypnotherapist over the course of a day, the work seeks to define the moment of abandonment when we tip in to another state.

Participants: Christian Adofo, Bula Agbo, Jonny Blamey, Simon Brewer, Satta Briama, Mekella Broomberg, Rory Buckley, Jack Cole, Richard Canham, Alex Donnachie, Catherine Elsen, Keiko Fujino, Franziska Haberlach, Amanda Hohenberg, Ed Howat, Joe Iredale, Kirsty Jameson, Will Jennings, Kuo-Chieh Liang, Martyna Lyko, Malcolm Medley, Ben Moor, Don More, Sophia Muhi, Rubina Pabani, John Riley, Phoebe Roberts, Dan Shelton, Kezia Tobin, Anna Trichkine, Anna Tymoshenko, Dominique Vannod, Lucy Williams.