Catharsis on the Mall


Catharsis on the Mall: A Vigil for Healing the Drug War was a two-day ceremony on the grounds of the Washington Monument. The highlight was the burning of the Temple of Essence.
The temple was the work of Michael Verdon. Here is how the temple looked when it was finished and getting ready to be burned:
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On the temple were LED lights which blinked at the rate of drug arrests in the U.S. Here is the top of the temple, against an early-rising moon:
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The sides and inside of the temple were decorated by people who had been harmed in the drug wars
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To start the ceremony of burning, fire dancers performed:
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The temple quickly went up in flames when it was lit
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As the temple burned, the sides fell down, revealing some of the words that had been written on the walls:
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After the outside walls fell down, the inside revealed a symbolic jail cell:
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As the temple burned to the ground, it set up flames of sparks which lit the Washington Monument.
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