Pilgrimage
The intention of the series Pilgrimage has been to invert the tourist gaze at two of the most visited sites In the Eastern and Western world – The Taj Mahal in India and St Peter’s Basilica in Italy. The buildings are described not by their architecture but rather by the queues of tourists visiting them, and all identifying context has been excluded from these two endlessly reproduced landmarks. The architecture is the main attraction but its absence symbolises the ubiquity of the modern day tourist trail.
With over one billion international tourists travelling each year, contemporary society is a mobile society and the modern day tourist can be described as a contemporary pilgrim. Each queue reveals its own choreography of personal space. A queue is a procession partly of national identity and demographics and partly of cultural dress code and body language. It is a temporary community whereby a collective spirit of anticipation exists in between the boredom of waiting.
With over one billion international tourists travelling each year, contemporary society is a mobile society and the modern day tourist can be described as a contemporary pilgrim. Each queue reveals its own choreography of personal space. A queue is a procession partly of national identity and demographics and partly of cultural dress code and body language. It is a temporary community whereby a collective spirit of anticipation exists in between the boredom of waiting.