711sound - DUBAI RIHANNOLITH 010620
- 1711sound - DUBAI RIHANNOLITH 010620
001
•
Open edition
At 11:40 PM on January 6th, 2020, 10 black Toyota Hiaces arrived in the Souk Al Bahar mall parking garage in Dubai. Each van carried 2 high-lumen projectors, which were wheeled out of the vans and transported by a group of around 30 anonymous individuals to the north end of the building, just across the Dubai fountain from the Burj Khalifa (as seen on security camera footage). Once set up, these projectors were used to display a massive image of popular singer Rihanna onto the southeast face of the building, lasting up until 1:42 AM on the 7th, when Dubai police arrived at the mall after several 901 calls were placed by both ground witnesses and maintenance workers inside the building. Of the ~30 perpetrators spotted on the security cameras, 22 were arrested and charged with trespassing and civil liability, and each would receive fines ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 AED (~4,000 to 5,400 USD).
It was later confirmed that these perpetrators were members of a fringe religious organization known as the Church of the Rihannatic Sun, which was originally founded in 2012 by a Newark business executive named John Michael Jefferson, and was home to around 200 online members at its peak. Rihannaticism, as he calls it, is based on the belief that Rihanna is a modern avatar of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, and that with proper devotion and steadfastness, she would help guide her worshippers into the afterlife, as Isis helped Osiris by resurrecting him in his myth. The church’s primary form of veneration is the construction of what they call “Rihannoliths,” which are rectangular monuments that display the image of Rihanna, often through projection, light refraction, or even screen mirroring, onto some sort of rectangular surface. Once monuments are set up, devotees sit in a semicircle facing the monument, chanting prayers in unison (often reworked lyrics of Rihanna songs), and presenting votive offerings to the monolith (which were later found at the Burj Khalifa in the form of used Fenty Beauty products).
In a 2022 interview, Jefferson stated that “the purpose of these Rihannoliths has never been for them to be enduring, and sit in one place for a long time. What we’re focused on is creating a monument that is worthy of Rihanna’s recognition. That mutual recognition is the most important thing in all of this. When we sense Isis’ heartbeat and understand that she senses ours, we are both participating in worship. When we finally, actually know that she really is there, the door to worship is flung wide. That’s when she indwells; when our soul temple is opened. That was our true goal with the Dubai Rihannolith - to make a statement so magnificent that she had no choice but to address it, and to address us.”
It was later confirmed that these perpetrators were members of a fringe religious organization known as the Church of the Rihannatic Sun, which was originally founded in 2012 by a Newark business executive named John Michael Jefferson, and was home to around 200 online members at its peak. Rihannaticism, as he calls it, is based on the belief that Rihanna is a modern avatar of the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis, and that with proper devotion and steadfastness, she would help guide her worshippers into the afterlife, as Isis helped Osiris by resurrecting him in his myth. The church’s primary form of veneration is the construction of what they call “Rihannoliths,” which are rectangular monuments that display the image of Rihanna, often through projection, light refraction, or even screen mirroring, onto some sort of rectangular surface. Once monuments are set up, devotees sit in a semicircle facing the monument, chanting prayers in unison (often reworked lyrics of Rihanna songs), and presenting votive offerings to the monolith (which were later found at the Burj Khalifa in the form of used Fenty Beauty products).
In a 2022 interview, Jefferson stated that “the purpose of these Rihannoliths has never been for them to be enduring, and sit in one place for a long time. What we’re focused on is creating a monument that is worthy of Rihanna’s recognition. That mutual recognition is the most important thing in all of this. When we sense Isis’ heartbeat and understand that she senses ours, we are both participating in worship. When we finally, actually know that she really is there, the door to worship is flung wide. That’s when she indwells; when our soul temple is opened. That was our true goal with the Dubai Rihannolith - to make a statement so magnificent that she had no choice but to address it, and to address us.”
