Heiliger Müll / Sacred Garbage

Johannes Röll

The project is dedicated to the issue of replacing or reproducing works of art that are considered sacred and the resulting necessity of dealing with damaged or no longer used works of art. 
The fragile crucifix of the Cristo de Burgos, a veristic crucifix from the 14th century kept in a chapel in Burgos Cathedral, serves as a starting point for the question of the intended and also officially approved reproduction of a sacred image. It was replaced in 2014 with an identical (and also blessed) copy suitable for the perils of Good Friday processions; the reproduction now being both a work of art and a religious processional instrument. 
While the multiple coexistence of this crucifix changes the imagined hierarchy of venerability depending on the situation – be it as an altarpiece or as a moving processional figure – this cannot always be clearly determined in the case of other pictorial works and religious artifacts. 
Not the intentional destruction through iconoclasm, but the damage often caused by age or use is the focus of this investigation. The topic is the preservation of these sacred objects, which are no longer presentable in sacred or private use, or are no longer functional or usable and have been replaced by copies or new originals; they no longer have a place in the church or home and, if not thrown away, have been taken to a “Deponia pia” (Hans Dünninger) or put up for the trade on the open market.