"Stations of a blessed sacrilege" (1995). This series contains symbolic representations of sacrilege and corporeal vulnerability, intended to provoke reflection on institutional power. It is not designed to offend but to invite dialogue. “Saintly Cadavers” interrogates the tension between spiritual ideals and institutional power through symbolic juxtapositions of clerical authority and human vulnerability. The work critiques systemic hypocrisy, not faith itself, and invites dialogue about bodily autonomy, gender equity, and the performative nature of sanctity. It is rooted in feminist theology and historical critiques of religious patriarchy. Georges Bataille’s erotic novella “The Story of the Eye” inspired my photographic interrogation of power, desire, and institutional decay. I refuse to sanitise the body or faith—but expose both as sites of conflict, ecstasy, and grotesque beauty representing the sacred and the profane occupying the same space. I captured the original content in black & white film and then hand-coloured each photo to add a grotesque and theatrical quality to the narrative. The subjects’ skin resembles polished wax, satirising the spectacle of 'incorruptible' saints displayed in reliquaries of various churches, cathedrals and basilicas. The occurrence of incorruptibility—in which the bodies of some saints are thought to have been miraculously preserved—is sometimes referred to as "saintly cadavers". I used a Konica AUTOREFLEX T4 35mm Film SLR Manual camera throughout the series. Click on each thumbnail to get a larger image with more details as well as even more photo outtakes.
