Dirndlmoschee is the second project in wearable mosque series (see Nomadic Mosque project description below). The concept is based on assimilating cultural characteristics of a place into one’s own context. The Dirndl, a traditional Austrian dress, is still worn as everyday wear in such places as the little town of Strobl at Wolfgang Lake. The Dirndlmoschee can be transformed into an Islamic prayer environment that provides a prayer space for three people. The dirndl’s apron is made out of a water-resistant material that can be unfolded into three connected prayer rugs. In the mosque configuration, the traditional shoulder scarf opens up into a veil. The silk decoration at the scarf edge playfully references a person’s hair, which is actually hidden by the veil. The belt carries a compass with a carabiner attached, from which prayer beads on ropes are hanging. The prayer beads are decorated with Swiss knives, from which the crosses were not removed, but re-symbolized as a decoration. The project involved discussions in various public spaces, including a communication with local Turkish immigrants, who showed interest in the Dirndlmoschee as a product. The project video documents my Islamic prayer at a pre-existing landscape sculpture in the shape of concentric circles, which provides a reference to Mecca. This piece also references the famous unfolding renaissance Pacher Altar located in the neighboring town of St. Wolfgang.
Concept and production: Azra Akšamija
Photographs: Rahkeen Gray
Spatial thanks to: Major of Strobl, Veronika and Peter Hitzl, participants and organizers of the symposium Ortung 2005
Wearable device, 12 photographs, video (2005)
Project commissioned by the Cultural Department of Salzburg Government within the International Artist Symposium ORTung 2005 in Wolfgangsee, AT, for the exhibition at the Gallery 5020 Salzburg.
Materials: Local dirndl-dress textiles, 3 carabiners, black rope, 3 Swiss mini-knives, prayer beads, headscarf, single-channel video
Dimensions: dress size, 38 (EU), video, 5 min
Also see: Azra Akšamija, Mosque Manifesto: Propositions for Spaces of Coexistence. Berlin: Revolver Publishing, 2015.