References to God in the Street & Encounters with Religious Iconography

It’s the beginning of autumn and also the season for a sequence of Jewish holidays – the new year aka Rosh HaShana, followed by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and Sukkot, a harvest festival. These holidays are sometimes represented by symbols, such as apple and honey for the new year, or a citrus fruit … Read more

All Heart and No Liver

The heart symbol is everywhere, especially now as we approach Valentine’s Day. But even once Valentine’s Day has passed, I will still inevitably interact with a heart symbol daily and possibly scores of times as I scroll through Instagram, ‘liking’ photographs and comments, or occasionally on Facebook if I particularly appreciate a post. Heart emojis … Read more

Venetian shrines and daily life

Back when I studied History of Art I spent a year in Venice researching various secular motifs in 18th Century Venetian painting. My assumption from that time was that Venice, unlike Rome and Florence, was not particularly a centre for religious iconography. However, on recent visits, walking around the city with an objective eye, I … Read more

Photographs inspired by earrings

I’ve always loved earrings. I feel like I’ve forgotten something if I go out without earrings, as if I’m not fully dressed, so tend to wear some form of ear embellishment every day even if it is just tiny studs. I was only allowed to pierce my ears when I was well into my teens … Read more

Guitars, icons and abstracts

I was looking through my photo library and came across the shot below, which I’d taken back in 2009.  The painted guitarists are nameless, implying that they are iconic enough to recognise. There is added handwritten text summarising their persona. On the left is a representation of American country musician Hank Williams who died back … Read more

Religious iconography and the everyday in Lecce

Coming from London where religion, when visible, tends to be multi faith, I’m struck by the abundance of Catholic imagery and iconography when visiting Italy, and how this imagery coexists with other signs and visual expression.  As a young teenager I developed a love of art history and associated images of the Madonna as something … Read more

Charlie Chaplin: iconography and the immigrant

I’ve just started reading Confabulations by John Berger, who died earlier in January this year.  Recently I’ve been reading almost exclusively on my Kindle (in a space-saving Marie Kondo-like spirit) but I decided to buy a hard copy of the book – it’s small, portable with a good-sized font, and illustrated with colour photographs and … Read more

Facades in Rome: old and new signs of culture

A few weeks ago I visited Rome after a gap of many years.  I had wanted to revisit for a while, especially after seeing contemporary films set in Rome by several of my favourite Italian directors: Nanni Moretti, Gianni di Grigorio and Paolo Sorrentino. I was immediately struck by the architecture and monumentality of Rome, but … Read more