Julian Birbrajer - Passion Play

Passion Play, »Images of ritual worlds, 1987–2007«, is an odyssey in a world av rites and rituals. The photographs highligt some 20 celebrations, e.g. Easter in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, The Carnival in Venice, Pentecost in Andalucian Rocío and El diá de los muertos in Mexico. The visual pilgrimage gives you a uniquely inti­­mate view of rituals that reference death while rejoicing in life. The vulnerability of life and fra­gility of flesh is on display. Sharp nails in Jesus’s hands, the horns of a bull aimed at a matador’s belly. Peni­tents with naked feet, hands encased in molten wax, dressed in shrouds, flagellating themselves. The El Colacho devil leaping over helpless babies to purify them from sin. Two young girls dressed in pure white carrying Christ in a cradle that is also a bier. Ghastly girl brides with white painted faces and beautiful women wearing death masks reminding us that youth, beauty and innocence, like the body and bounties of nature, are transitory. The photo­graphs testify to the power of ritual not only to create meaning around communal acts, but to reach into the deepest recesses of one’s being and find there a joyful antidote to fear and a sensual bond that underlies our shared humanity.

The book contains an essay, »Death and Divine ecstasy«, by the writer and anthropologist Jenny White.