Material Religion

Only recently having had my first personal experience with death, the museum in the past few months has felt like one monumental memento mori. The very building itself is a tribute to each and every participant in creating the ROM, whether a bricklayer or a financial backer. Meanwhile its insides are bursting with objects created by the deceased, depicting ideas of death, and … [Read more...] about Artifact or Ancestor?

 In the Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery, the large bronze statue of the Vairocana Buddha sits to the right of the first floor washrooms, and just beyond the entrance to the Matthews Family Court of Chinese Sculpture. Although the bronze figure belongs to the Matthews Family Court collection, the 8 foot by 5 foot statue does not fit in the actual gallery. ((Royal Ontario … [Read more...] about Every Object Has a Story: The Vairocana Buddha

This is a leather bracelet on which is engraved the Our Father prayer, in Italian. It is less than an inch wide, very smooth on the outside but a little rough on the inside; sometimes it hurts my skin when I wear it for too long. I photographed it in my room at Quest University Canada, British Columbia. I bought this bracelet at the airport, one time I was traveling alone to … [Read more...] about Valeria Vergani’s Leather Bracelet

I photographed this object at my house where it stands in a glass cupboard. The object is a metallic hand symbol called an ‘Alam’. It is an Islamic religious symbol that is meant to represent the flag that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his family (peace be upon them) were said to have carried during expeditions. It is of spiritual significance to Twelver Shi’ite … [Read more...] about Thamina Jaferi’s Alam

 This photograph was taken in Kingston, Ontario. The Kara is a small metal bangle that is worn by Sikhs and is always worn on the right hand as a reminder not to participate in any wrongdoings and to refrain from acts that would bring shame or disgrace to one's family or their religion. The relationship that I have to the Kara helps me identify with my religion and … [Read more...] about Seerat Kaur Dhillon’s Kara