Dom zu Speyer (Speyer cathedral)

Walls, towers, pedestals, doors, even tower crosses of the miniature Speyer cathedral by Hans Hemmert are completely covered by the consumerist objects of adoration of our time, such as the unaffordable real-leather handbags and shoes, tights or accessories by Louis Vuitton Melletier, Paris. Speyer cathedral undergoes a radical shrinking into an assembled handbag that one could imagine being carried lasciviously by one of the top models shown on it: the brand handbag as a miniature altar, equipped with the insignia of the designer, as a constant companion and spiritual guide. Adorned with today's icons, and reduced to a single advertising and projection area, the cathedral tells of the seductions and re-enchantment of consumption. It presents a seemingly endless offering of answers to the needs of the individual who makes his or her way through the market of beliefs. In the time of church and capital, the religious charge of contemporary saints' images is guaranteed. Catholicism and consumption share the similarities of an 'eye religion'.

Text by Angelika Richter (From: Von Ikonen, Idolen, Avataren und anderen Stellvertretern)