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Photos of Nuit Blanche, 7 September 2007, by Alison Hancock
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In this project, I am exploring the intersection of religion and the body by researching ancient and present religions worldwide and their use of votive offerings. I am intrigued by the common connection of votive offering (replicas of body parts) between religions as diverse as those shared by the Ancient Greeks (life size body parts cast in marble dust) and today's Latin American Catholicism (miniature body parts made of metal). The Buddhists, having a different approach, put clay discs (seals) stamped with text in stuppas as an offering or to give thanks for prayers answered.
I am fascinated at the fragmentary nature of the way these offerings are presented. And I wonder in a contemporary world of body worship what kind of offerings or thanks would be given. What would be wished for? By constructing a spiral labyrinth I have hoped to create a meditative walk where one can read the text along the path, take a moment in the centre, then return on the same path to exit the labyrinth, considering contemporary society's preoccupation with perfectionism and youth. |
