Rafik Greiss: The Longest Sleep

A film about mawlids, or gatherings dedicated to local Sufi saints, The Longest Sleep explores the human pursuit of transcendence through collective rituals and altered states of consciousness. Using immersive sound and bewitching visual rhythms — drums, ululations, breathing and bodies in trance — the work investigates how repetition, movement and devotion dissolve the boundaries of the ego. Rafik Greiss, who lives between Paris and Cairo, develops a practice using photography, sculpture, moving image and collage, exploring the relationship between individual consciousness and collective experience, and creating immersive environments in which images and objects become vehicles for sensation and transformation.

Fotografia: “The Longest Sleep” © Aurélien Mole