AWAITING

From the Places / Ways / Intersections cycle, Church of the Infant Jesus 2019

Metallic-glazed, sanded and flat overflow downdraw glass – stopsol blue supersilver

Photo: Zdeňka Hanáková

The glass art installation “Awaiting” interacts with the unique architecture of the pilgrimage church of the Infant Jesus during the Lenten run up to Easter. Despite its fragility, the work transforms its surroundings with sparkling light and constantly changes throughout the day. Images in the metallic-glazed glass shatter assumptions and lend new perspectives. An entirely new spiritual space is thus created, unfettered by reality, which invites the observer to meditate. Everything that is reflected in the glass,  every architectural element and spacial relationship, now takes on new meaning:  from previously unremarkable details to the very massive structure of the building. The installation aligns with the dynamics of the  baroque interior, taking on its energy and intensity. The furnishings of the basilica are reflected in glass fragments  and then re-integrate as a unified whole. Neither light nor dark ever entirely dominates. They communicate, somewhere on the border between shadow and light energy, in the subconscious and inner mysteries. Sacred spaces have always worked with the principle of light. No other phenomenon perceived by human senses comes so close to the undefinable spiritual needs of human beings or generates so much varied emotion. The installation is a quiet call to reflection and reconsideration of stereotypical viewpoints as well  as an opportunity for a quiet meditation and inner freedom.