Violet Lodge

remains/relics

What transforms mere remains into a relic?

In the general sense, a relic is something left over from the past, still holding a link with it that some might wish to preserve. Everyday articles surviving from the past may also become the objects of near-devotion because they still bear emotional links: a first child’s milk teeth, the first baby shoes, a lock of a lover’s hair, the tatters of a great-great-grandmother’s lace shawl.
A strong commitment to a code of spiritual ideals offering hope for the future can transform a remnant from the past into a religious relic … far more than a mere personal souvenir. Water from the Jordan, desert sand, stone from the Holy Sepulchre or splinters of wood from the Mount of Olives have all been objects of deep devotion. For the faithful of the Middle Ages, the test of a true relic was its ability to work miracles.

For the people of today, relics of this kind have only limited significance. We ascribe supernatural powers to protect and cure to other things. We seek our way to what we consider heaven by worshipping trademarks and logos which promise us respect and power – reverence of a very different kind!

Violet Lodge is created specifically for the venue of exposure.

Installions 2005 Vienna, 2006 Bethlehem, 2016 Reichenau an der Rax

Burning Heart, metal, photography

Glass with Milk Teeth, glass, plasticine, teeth

Little Angel of Luck, porcelain, dice

Blood relic, glass vials with ‘blood’

Casket with Bones, beauty case, bones

Forever Yours, metal tin, cloth, acrylic, glitter