Bricks Don’t Fly on Their Own : DECOY! At the Fridge
On Saturday, October 10th I attended the final day of the DECOY! exhibition at The Fridge DC.
What really struck me about all of the pieces was the religiosity present in the exhibit. There were contemporary renderings of scenes created by some of the world’s most well known European artists. “High Art” and Street Art came to a violent collision with contemporary re-interpretations of Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam and new imaginings of the famous images of Madonna and child that at times took on darker, more violent tones.
The heart surrounded by a layer of brass knuckles as the words of Ave Maria and the Lord’s Prayer are stenciled behind in clear, simple, easy to read characters brings to mind many questions:
Is it a statement on the violent tones that many religious texts based on love and compassion can take when in the hands of man? How do the humanoid skulls and crossbones with discernible figures fit into the picture? Is it a statement on the loss the world and Mary suffered during the crucifixion? Perhaps they are embodiments of the anger and fear that Mary feels in handing over her child to be sacrificed for the sins of others? Or are they representative of genocidal slaughter in the name of religion?
Notice that in both images God is looking directly at Mary who has her eyes closed (in fact, in the entire exhibit Mary only has her eyes open in a single image) while clutching her baby who more resembles a stillborn pile of bones than an actual child.
The answers to the questions may not be entirely clear, but what DECOY!’s work accomplishes is bringing religious imagery that is most often only seen at museums and galleries and re-interprets it for the people of the streets. After all, Jesus (PBUH) was a man of the people who broke with elitist society and yet the imagery surrounding a Palestinian man’s stories of love and acceptance have only been available to and interpreted by wealthy, educated, Westerners for so long.