RELICS 2010/11

ON RELICS (an ongoing project without a clear plan yet)

I believe that there exists a close relationship between the function of relics and photography. Both seem to serve a inner wish for an interaction between us and something outside our own boundaries.

Also the idea of taking an object such as a skull and connect it to something that is thought to go far beyond the visual appearance fascinates me. It does not matter if a bone did belong to the saint or someone else. What counts is the believe that it does. Even in the Middle Ages many scholars have been aware of this. We should not attempt to discuss whether these people were sane when they worshiped these objects but rather look at our behavior before we judge them. It might be that there has never been a time with more relic-like objects than ours. Look at your Nike shoes or images of Hollywood stars. Quite ordinary shoes and ordinary people with the aura of something beyond.

I find the last image in the series especially extraordinary. It clearly shows a relic as indicated by the golden arm that holds it. But the name of the saint that it is thought to belong to is lost in time.

Ludwig Wittgenstein said something like "It is strange that all these rites are seen as something stupid. It can never be understood that people do this just for purely stupid reasons."