Relics and Reliquaries (2024/2025)

In many religious faiths a relic is defined as ‘a part of a deceased holy person’s body or belongings, as an object of reverence believed to hold miraculous qualities’. Worshipped and glorified they are said to be an intercession to God.

During the Making process, holding these pieces gave me tangible comfort, signifying love, loss, connection, grief, and mending. Made from found objects and industrial felt, embroidered with beads and embellishments, each one includes a hidden object or message relating to an individual I have a relationship with and collectively, to the self-settlers of the Chornobyl exclusion zone.

[Relic derives from the Latin ‘reliquiae’, meaning “remains”, and a form of the Latin verb ‘relinquere’, to “leave behind, or abandon”. A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relic.]