Sin

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I wanted a more symbolic catalyst for my work, to inform the direction I took it in and shape the future pieces. 

 Many artists have explored the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins through their art. The sins are a controversial topic, introduced by the Catholic Church as the counterpoint to the Cardinal virtues. They display the seven characteristics of a person who has rejected God, and offer a list of behaviours to avoid if you are to become closer to God and one with him after death according to traditional theology. 

 Of the sins (Envy, Anger, Greed, Lust, Pride, Avarice and Sloth) some are more easily depicted through metaphor and allegory than others. Telling the story of the sins and people who have succumbed to them is an avenue I am interested in pursuing. 

 At the Tate Britain, I saw this artwork 'an Allegory of Man', by an unknown artist:


Painted during the 16th Century on board, it signifies several of the sins on the arrows being fired at the man attempting to enter heaven. This is symbolic of the struggle that the church believes everyone has to overcome during our finite lives on earth to gain entry to the afterlife and pass St Peter at the Pearly Gates. 

Bearing this in mind as I looked around the rest of the museums, I tried to find common links between these images and sins an the other works I saw. The most obvious connection was Rodin's famous sculpture 'The Kiss', depicting a couple embracing and kissing passionately. With a clear parallel to the allegorical painting through it's depiction of lust, I sketched it in pencil whilst there and photographed a closeup shot of the point of contact of their lips. The physical sculpture lent itself well to explorations of three dimensional space through photography and later animation. 

The deadly sins as a topic made me think predominantly of the Catacombs of Paris, where the bones of 6 million people were transferred to prevent overcrowding of the cemeteries. Thus, the ossuary was created and filled with bones to become an 18th century tourist attraction. This makes it a uniquely sombre but gothic and macabre resting place, with many photo opportunities.

The bones are piled above each other in haphazard heaps. As the sins are so closely tied to the afterlife and the ideas of mortality, I feel this reminder or death - a memento mori - is particularly poignant. 

 The photography of things like these skulls on a very small, intimate scale, but not macro, also does something to remind me of our small place in the wold - this many bones certainly reminds you how fleeting our lives are at any rate! 

Skulls in particular caught my attention in regards to this:






I want to bring forward this sombre atmosphere, as well as an awareness of human mortality and sin as I work towards a final outcome. Thus these photos are more my visual inspiration than anything else.