The shot was taken lying down on the ground at the church in the centre of Klavdia village, Cyprus. I wanted to show in this shot that a part of the church acts to inslave as oppose to liberate people; hence the noose.

The idea and perspective are influenced by many religious debates I had with people of Klavdia village and Cyprus this summer. Even thought I didn't agree with a lot of it, I heard a lot of Orthodox opinion on life, and saw in many ways how it influenced every day living in the village.

This went in par with reading Tori Amos' book which spoke heavily about religion, and how her grandmother used it as a tool to impose her will upon her as a child.

The debate about body and soul came to mind as the Orthodox doctrine is the denial of mortal pleasures, i.e. sex and the communion with the spirit, the soul. Tori argued that she is learning to incorporate the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdelene archetypes in her life. This simply means that to live a balanced person you must embrace your sexuality and take pride in it whilst tending to your spiritual side, making sure not to let it mould.

This shot is all about the imposition of repressive morals the church is guilty of, for social order, for money or for whatever. I do not claim that this is all the church is about, but it's easy to see the repressive side of the church... especially in the Orthodoxy of the older generations in Cyprus.

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