Below the Surface, Beyond the Bones

“Below the Surface, Beyond the Bones” is an examination into the overlapping characteristics found within architectural structures and the human body, as both of these sacred spaces respond to internal and external factors. The ornamented details crafted in cathedrals are specific to the era of their construction, the geographical location, and their religious significance. Due to this, each cathedral is uniquely individual, just as our fingerprints are to us. The various factors that continuously sculpt us into who we are differ and are dependent upon many factors. From our conception, the genetics we inherit from our parents and the family dynamics we are raised in will be incredibly influential to how we develop, from morals to decision-making. By reflecting on the embodied experiences of my immediate family members, I delve into the intimate relationship we have with our own bodies, along with our idea of self, and how they can morph and twist through life as our bodies start to break down with time and respond to experiences. By playing with spatial perceptions within imagery of the human body and cathedrals, I contort the two sacred structures together, rearranging what used to be distinct and familiar about the two spaces. By collapsing the boundaries between the body and architecture I create a space where the divine and personal intersect, this merge redefines what is sacred, stable and personal as the both body and space hold sacred moments in the rhythmic pulses of the blood or in a still moment of introspection.