WORSHIP (2013)
The photographic series Worship addresses the almost religious veneration of artistic objects and juxtaposes it with customs from another cultural context: the ritual culture of India. In the photographs, which resemble still lifes, one sees minimalist forms painted with colorful pigments and adorned with floral garlands. The “utilization” of the objects here is performed in a ritual manner and expresses the widespread Hindu belief that deities can “occupy” any object in order to be venerated there. The photo series Worship thus presents “fetishes” that go beyond their function as art objects, becoming potential mediums of divine presence through ritualization. At the same time, the work opens up a reflection on temporality and the persistent Western desire to transcend time—a longing that connects the histories of modern art and religion alike. Both traditions have repeatedly sought permanence: art through abstraction and ideal form, religion through the promise of eternity and salvation. In both, the object becomes a vessel for timelessness, an attempt to escape the decay and instability inherent in material existence. Yet, in Worship, the ephemeral gestures of color, the fading pigments, and the transient floral offerings subtly undermine this aspiration. They remind us that matter is never still and that meaning—whether artistic or spiritual—is always bound to time, transformation, and decay. In this sense, the photographs reveal the quiet tension between the human yearning for the eternal and the inescapable temporality of all creation.