Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

A Slavonic Mass by Leos Janácek plays as historical figures, biblical characters, and mythical creatures gather in the pleasure dome. Aphrodite, Lilith, Isis, Kali, Astarte, Nero, Pan, the Great Beast and the Scarlet Woman are part of a visual feast of superimposed images, hallucinations, and the spirit of decadence of the "Yellow '90s." Mythological images from Aleister Crowley, cabbalistic symbols, artifice, and magic combine to render the pleasure dome both as prison and as celebration.—Nick Riganas