Inspired by Pina Bausch’s (1940-2009) choreography of The Rite of Spring, The Passion is a series of twelve 100 by 70 centimeter charcoal drawings on paper created between 2019 and 2021. On the notes of Igor Stravinsky’s (1882-1971) infamous orchestral concert work, bodies tremble and bounce in accordance with the often-violent rhythm. Covered in dirt, male and female figures merge in a transcending rite. Muscled male predators are juxtaposed with fragile female victims, resulting in an unsettling truth emphasizing their primitive nature and differences. Gathered in groups, often separated by sex or sometimes engaging with the opposite sex in an aggressive or tender manner, the raw nature of mankind is visualized in their spiritual dancing experience. Contracting bodies, limbs clapping on their torsos, feet stamping on the dirt floor, and their dramatic facial expression continuously changes from agony to comfort, from anger to despair, and in the end, from life to death.

The choreography in question consists of various natural parallels with the work of Julien Delagrange; the Sublime, syncretism, existentialism, the human condition, and also a certain desire for spirituality in a secularized world. The series of The Passion, the symbolism of twelve pieces, and the similarities between The Rite of Spring and the Passion of the Christ indicate the presence of universal and spiritual syncretism. The artist investigates an inherently human structure that has manifested itself at all times in all cultures in a desire for spirituality, resulting in a direct impact as it touches the deepest traces of our human nature. Today, this is as relevant as it has ever been, as we continue to depart from our nature due to technology and life in an ever-changing world.

The series depicts groups of figures in a state of complete ecstasy. A certain directness and rhythm arise due to this recurring frontal composition. The figures fill the entire image surface as if being enclosed by the aluminum frame, bursting with energy encapsulated in a small space. The separate figures are notes, and the full drawing is a melody, discovering various combinations with exemplary contrasts in subtle differences. The series became a breakthrough for the artist, who was fascinated by the connection of the primitive nature of the substance charcoal in relation to the primitive subject matter, convincing him to switch to charcoal and develop his personal technique—a defining moment for the artist’s future work.

While working on this series, Delagrange maniacally collected images of the performance, such as press pictures, archival images, film stills, and more, creating an archive of figures, poses, and compositions to start building images. By cropping, sampling, or making collages, he arranged the figures to establish the archetypical image in question. A strategy which is a very common practice today, sampling found imagery and recycling it into new artworks. However, Delagrange identified the problematic nature of this appropriation strategy and wanted the original source material to be cited very literally. Not only in the title—(after Pina Bausch)—but also in the artwork itself, so the appropriation is genuine. Intrigued by how dissolved authorship and originality are, this approach would later result in a series of new works titled Forbidden Reproductions.