The Church

The Church of The Dead God

The Church of the Dead God is a series of works produced between 2022 and 2023 examining contemporary American political and digital culture through the lens of traditional religion. 

Artist Statement

"God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him." 

-Friedrich Nietzsche (The Gay Science, p. 181.)

Traditional religion is dying in our society. But with it so too do the benefits: namely a sense of purpose, community, and answers to moral questions. I am not interested in the "Death of God," for the same reasons Nietzsche was, rather I am interested in the hole left behind. I am convinced that political activism has become for many (particularly those who felt outcast by the former,) a new kind of religion. But when the location of morality is shifted from the idea of a transcendent call and placed at the level of consequence, pleasure, or mob approval, where do we end up? Are we capable of rationalizing a set of collective values or truths without a higher authority? How can we praise a form while condemning its shadow? To explore these thoughts I have spent a year creating objects of reverence using graphic images, texts, and figures sourced from the internet. Alongside these icons, I have created a series of reliquaries to house items reflective of our time, and a self-destructive Christ figure. With this, I invite you to contemplate your beliefs inside The Church of the Dead God.