Dervish 12

Jennifer Steinkamp, 2004
Digital video installation (projection)
Foyer, -1 Floor

Description:

In Dervish 12, Jennifer Steinkamp transforms a virtual tree into a meditative, poetic form that transcends the boundaries between nature, technology, and spiritual ritual. Using computer animation and large-scale wall projection, the artist depicts a tree whose trunk remains upright while its branches spin and sway in rhythmic, hypnotic motion.

The work draws its title and conceptual framework from the whirling dervishes—Sufi mystics known for their meditative spinning dance. Much like the ritual itself, the tree in Dervish 12 becomes a visual embodiment of spiritual transcendence through motion. The trunk acts as a grounded axis, while the swirling branches seem to reach beyond the physical, echoing the balance between stillness and ecstatic release.

Projected in a dim, immersive space within The Met Hotel, the piece invites quiet contemplation. Its serene rotation mimics the passage of time and the cycles of nature, with subtle seasonal cues suggested in the tree’s shifting colors and textures. As viewers pause before it, the tree appears both natural and artificial—alive in its motion, yet born entirely of light and code.

Through Dervish 12, Steinkamp harnesses digital tools to evoke an ancient spiritual practice, offering a moment of calm in the flow of daily life. It’s an invitation to slow down, reflect, and reconnect—not just with nature or technology, but with the inward rhythm of the self.