Faculty of Art

Photography

Sacha Nicolaou

Reconciliation

Reconciliation is a large scale installation.

“Reconciliation addresses personal narratives of addiction and forgiveness. Catholic imagery is heavily present throughout the work, over 250 crosses and 60 rosaries are on the installation. Catholicism and Jesus Christ are connected to ideas of forgiveness and sacrifice. The abundance of Catholic imagery relays a message of devotion. The pins and nails on the top circumference of the altar mimic that of Jesus’s thorn crown, the nails being a direct reference to Jesus's crucifixion. The heart is representative of The Sacred Heart, expressing love and hope in submission. Hundreds of safety pins adorn the installation, the repetition, overwhelming abundance of pins is a literal representation of recurring obsessive thoughts and actions. The installation includes personal objects, stuffed animals, a photograph of family members, these objects are sentimental. The cups evoke a visual of dirty dishes on a nightstand. The top surface is covered in cinnamon heart candies, the symbolism of candy, its sweetness and instant gratification despite its negative health effects. A plastic tube hangs off the altar, its beginning and ending are not visible. The tube is filled with red wine, the wine is old and looks like blood, the blood of Christ is represented as wine during communion.There are two separate elements from the altar itself, the mirror and the kneeler. The mirror allows the viewer to see the top surface of the altar while standing.The kneeler and mirror work in conjunction, the viewer can use the kneeler to kneel before the altar, when they look up at the work they can see the top of the altar and themself in the mirror. The action of kneeling before the altar represents submission, accepting that there is power from something greater at large. The power of God? The power of addiction? ”