Hope Scarlett Faircloth: Golgotha

For hundreds of years Christian art has depicted pain, torment and death as graceful and beautiful. Suffering is seen as a noble act, The more one suffers for faith the more holy one becomes. Iconography, narratives of martyrdom, and depictions of the death of Christ all reflect this paradox of agony rendered graceful. The collection aims to challenge the viewer’s perception of suffering, not as something grotesque, but as something meaningful, desirable and beautiful. It invites reflection on how beauty in Christian art has been used to soften, justify, and elevate pain.