Collective Heart in Dresden – Easter, lowering the Lenten cloth and new light
- Eva Petrič
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Collective Heart has been living for the past weeks at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in Dresden as the Lenten cloth covering the high altar. Over time it became more than an artwork installed in a space — it became part of the space, part of the silence, part of the light, part of the daily rhythm of the cathedral and the people who entered it.
Yesterday evening, during the Easter Vigil mass, Collective Heart was slowly lowered, and behind it the painting Resurrection by Raphael Mengs appeared.
It was a very special moment — not only visually, but symbolically. For weeks the Collective Heart covered the altar, holding a space of contemplation, silence, and waiting. Then, slowly, it moved, and the image of resurrection appeared behind it — as if the heart itself opened a space for light and renewal.
Collective Heart is made of more than one thousand handmade, donated, and recycled lace fragments from around the world. Each lace carries a story, a memory, a life. Together they form a heart — a collective heart — reminding us that we are connected in ways we often do not see, but always feel.
Since the installation was placed in the cathedral on February 18, something beautiful and unexpected happened. People from Dresden and from other places began bringing handmade lace and crochet pieces from their homes, wishing to contribute them so that a new artwork can be created from them — a new story, a new life for these textiles, and a continuation of the Collective Heart.
And today, on Easter Sunday, a day that speaks about renewal, hope, and new beginnings, it also happens to be my birthday.
I cannot imagine a more meaningful birthday than seeing the Collective Heart slowly move and make space for the image of Resurrection — a moment that felt like a quiet reminder that everything is always in movement, in transformation, in becoming.
As Easter is a time of renewal, light, and hope, I would like to take this moment to wish you beautiful and peaceful Easter holidays.
Perhaps hope is not something that appears suddenly.Perhaps it grows slowly, quietly — like lace, thread by thread,like a heart that is made from many hearts.
Today I wish exactly these: renewal, new beginnings and hope for the entire world! Let our one and only world and likewise our one and only lives always have the capacity for renewal, never shy away from new beginnings and always be protected by HOPE!
Special thanks to Cathedral Priest Norbert Buchner and the Dresden Cathedral team for their invitation, support, and help in setting up and reawakening Collective Heart here in Dresden.
Copyright ,© *Eva Petrič, 2026 All rights reserved.
