Description
About this piece:
The Epistle of Barnabas is a first-century New Testament Apocrypha that details how early Jewish texts were misinterpreted and were Christian all along. The main passage explains how the Jews can live after breaking the covenant and avoid bringing the end of days: by following the way of light or the way of dark. The text is widely considered a bad typology or pseudo-gospel due to its historical anachronisms.
Appropriating this text and re-examining it to fit my cult of self, I’ve investigated the limitations of interpretation. What is literal and what is speculative? Why does this lead to eternal damnation but not that? How can I cultivate a spirituality centered on the self while attempting to search for a higher power?
This book was included as a part of my installation Lust of the Flesh (2024) at Art Gym Denver. The constructed space was meant to be intimate and reflective while coaxing a purveyor into rethinking how they view spirituality in the scope of queerness.
Text was sourced from earlychristianwritings.com; translated by J.B. Lightfoot
Materials:
laser print on linen paper, screen print, thai unryu, thread, pen, highlighter
About the artist:
Originally hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Alex Blom’s studio practice centers on how religious institutions and childhood development have impacted his queer identity. Blom’s interdisciplinary work amalgamates deeply personal color palettes, self-image, art historical references, and LGBTQ cultural phenomenons to explore ideas that were deemed taboo in his childhood. By inserting himself into appropriated Catholic images and environments, he creates a cult of self whereby he can claim the symbology of the Catholic tradition. His work has been included in exhibitions in Colorado, Missouri, Texas, and Arizona. He currently also serves on the Media and Marketing Committee for Mo’Print Colorado.
Blom graduated with a BA in Studio Art with minors in Art History and Business Administration from the University of Denver in 2023. During his time at DU, Blom was also a four-year member and two-year captain of the school’s NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving team. In the Fall of 2024, he will begin pursuing an MFA in Printmedia at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
