Transcendence and hedonism are two of the inner contradictions we experience in new conceptual constellations in a work dedicated to collective rituals in Europe’s public spaces. The border between exalted religious ecstasy and frivolous folklore is porous. The collective body is boundless, transcending all other boundaries – imaginary as well as real – during the festivals, carnivals and other rituals around the world where people celebrate themselves and each other in the shared public space. Visual artist Pauline Curnier Jardin explores the inner contradictions of ecstasy in brand new conceptual constellations across Europe, from the Sicilian St Agatha festival to the carnival in Cologne. The public arena represents an ambiguous motif in any idea of European civilisation: a place where democratic triumphs are celebrated, but at the same time a brutal site for violent, spectacular acts from fights to slaughters. ‘Fat to Ashes’ is a immersive journey into the crowd of bodies, laughter, song and prayer. A work that itself celebrates the boundlessness and magic of the collective dissolution of all hierarchies and authority.
