The 11 Commandments May 5, 2009

Photography Exhibition

The 11 Commandments is a visual and personal interpretation of the precepts divinely revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai. In Christian tradition we are accustomed to synthesising the Commandments with ten major precepts which, since the divine event on Mt. Sinai, have guided and shaped everyday life for millions of Christians around the world. The aim of the photographer is not to give us an iconographic representation of each single precept. There is no iconographic representation of the commandments in the history of the visual arts. The closest visual representations to the subject are the film The Ten Commandments by Cecil B. DeMille and depictions by a number of artists through time representing the prophet, such as Michelangelo’s Moses. The photography of Cristina Cocullo explores the subject with a deep and personal sensitivity in which metaphor is the principal element used to suggest a single precept. Cocullo’s eye observes how religious iconography is synthesised and reproduced in contemporary life with religious representations which are familiar to us all - modern icons, visual popularisations of the divine. Cristina Cocullo captures these at times with relentless truth, at others with subtle irony, sometimes suggesting reflections on the contemporary state of faith through its popular visual perception. In each photo, Cocullo tries to relate a single precept through a metaphorical image and at the end of this visual journey, through one of the most significant episodes of Christian faith.
With photograph number 11 she challenges us with a personal reflection. Cristina Cocullo produces a mystical and enigmatic image
prompting us to question the meaning of the commandments in our daily lives.

Official Website: http://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/worship/calendar-by-type.php?t=5