The video Rapture features a group of Kurdish women performing the Zekr or Sema ritual in
a closed hall in Iranian Kurdistan. The artist
was granted permission to film this ritual. It
is a spiritually significant ceremony in Sufism, accompanied by the rhythm of one or more traditional Iranian percussion instruments called Dafs. The ritual is intended to induce a kind of trance, enabling one to detach from the physical world and draw nearer to the spiritual realm. Collective dancing accompanied by percussion and singing creates an exceptional state of solidarity and understanding. The freely flowing hair of these women is a striking deviation from their expected appearance in public spaces, where they are required to be fully veiled with their hair covered.