A menorah welded from handguns; a relic display containing “trigger finger” bones of fictional Catholic Saints; scale replicas of cathedrals, synagogues and mosques sculpted with artillery shells, tank parts and bullets — all of these are part of American artist Al Farrow’s Reliquaries series. There aren’t just weapons here: a piece of the Berlin Wall, a part of an Israeli Army issued Tefilin bag and rusted war antiquities excavated in France intermingle with bone and steel walls of Farrow’s model houses of worship. Whether topped with a crucifix, a six-point star or a crescent, the objects are powerful plays on history of religion and violence.
Al Farrow’s New Reliquaries are currently exhibited at the Catherine Clark Gallery in San Francisco, including his most recent and ambitious work Bombed Mosque, a meticulously detailed, 780-pound sculpture composed from 50,000 bullets.
Click through below to view a slideshow of his work.
Bombed Mosque. Courtesy Al Farrow
Synagogue. Courtesy Al Farrow
Cathedral. Courtesy Al Farrow
Menorah. Courtesy Al Farrow
Triger Finger of Santa da Guerra. Courtesy Al Farrow
Mosque III. Courtesy Al Farrow
Synagogue. Courtesy Al Farrow
Jawbone of Santa Guerra. Courtesy Al Farrow
Revelation. Courtesy Al Farrow
Bombed Mosque detail. Courtesy Al Farrow