Apparition of Virgin Mary

Sandra Sterle creates fantastic and enigmatic personas in her practice of video, media installation, web projects, photography and performance. For Sterle, the identity of the medium itself can be multiple, as she explores how the lives of ephemeral, process-oriented works of art are affected, and in some cases eluded, by sophisticated modes of documentation.
In the performance Apparition of the Virgin Mary, the artist, dressed as the figure of the Virgin Mary, stands on a postament made up of a pile of free supermarket catalogues, such as those we so frequently find in front of our doors. After descending from the postament, the artist spreads the catalogues around the floor and walks over them. The performance continues after the artist sits behind the computer and engages with the virtual character of the Virgin Mary in the game Second Life. The audience watches the projection on the wall... 

“In the Middle and East European countries in transition, we have specific relations between religious icons and social aspects of capital accumulation. In many cities, new architecture often consists of new churches and huge shopping malls.
Escapism from these living conditions is directed towards massive use of new media communication technologies. Temporary, autonomous communication platforms are turning into a therapy/confessional technologism driven by the rules of social and economic control.” (Sandra Sterle)

Organisation: City of Women; In collaboration: Sonica – Festival of Transitory Art.