Digital Sculpture
What question/problem did you choose?
What is hell?
Tell why you chose this topic and why it matters to you.
When most people think of hell, any number of grotesque, horrifying images come to mind. Demons. Worms. Skeletons. Darkness. Flames. All things that contribute to an eternal sentence of unimaginable torture for those who reject God. But could a loving God really create such a place, let alone condemn his own creations to live there? This conundrum is one that may turn people away from Him, and even religion in general. To me, these commonly accepted depictions of hell seem outlandish and over-the-top.
Give some details on the problem/question—explain it in depth.
“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”
-John Milton, Paradise Lost
I would like to create a project that explores what Hell really is, and perhaps, why it even exists in the first place. As a Catholic, the depictions of Hell as a place of physical torture makes little sense to me. From my understanding, Hell is less of a place, and more of a state. Without getting caught up in the physical images that are obviously meant to be figurative (after all, how can a place of utter darkness be covered in glowing flames?), I want to create a series of digital images that more accurately depict the state that Hell is meant to represent: one of immense loneliness and rejection, defined by the absence of God. I want to show the essence of Hell being relational, not physical. It is a “place” where its inhabitants lifetime of choosing to reject God’s love eventually come to the realization of what they have lost. I want to show the utter heartbreak, the lifelessness that comes with this eternal state of being. God has given us the dignity to live our lives how we want to, but if we constantly defy him, making ourselves the centers of our universe, than that is exactly how our souls will spend eternity in Hell.
List out 10 tangible people/places/things that are associated with your question/problem.
- Inferno
- Circles of Hell
- Pride
- Gluttony
- Lust
- Greed
- Throne
- Time Out Corner
- Island
- Desert
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Fallen Angel by Damien Lovegrove
I would like to invoke a similar feeling of inner isolation as this photo depicts. The void is even more recognizable in that it is in black and white, which I might want to use in my project.
