Threshold to the Kingdom (2000)
A static shot shows the facade of the international arrivals hall at London City Airport. Opaque automatic doors, flanked by two potted plants, open and newly arrived travellers pad into the United Kingdom. The slow-motion images are accompanied by the dramatic sounds of Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere (1630).
The title Threshold to the Kingdom refers to the arrivals hall as a gateway to the UK. The slow motion movements combined with celestial music suggests a voyage that has reached its high point. At the same time, Wallinger also implies that, for many people across the world, this place could be a gateway to a proverbial heavenly kingdom.