A sword is driven through a fabric on top of an altar, a space reserved for religious idols or icons. The gesture confronts the contradiction between every religion’s language of peace and the violence repeatedly enacted in their name. The blade connects belief to conflict, turning the altar into a site of tragedy. The work asks whether faith has been used to cultivate peace or to justify harm. In ignoring this, do we become complicit in its actions?
By placing the weapon where an icon would normally sit, the work suggests a replacement: the sword becomes the symbol. It asks what we truly worship when power is sanctified and whether the promise of peace is sometimes used only to legitimise dominance.
By placing the weapon where an icon would normally sit, the work suggests a replacement: the sword becomes the symbol. It asks what we truly worship when power is sanctified and whether the promise of peace is sometimes used only to legitimise dominance.
