Antrum

Rio Staelens

Dimensions	240 × 160 mm
printrun	print-run 200 copies
Cover	softcover
binding	open thread binding
printing	digital printing
Format	240 x 160 mm
coverage	72 pages
Design by	Design by Rio Staelens and Bodo Peeters
language	English / French / Dutch
Publisher	self published
year	2018

In stock

Antrum quantity

Add to cart

In her book Antrum Rio Staelens showcases images of various „Lourdes grottos“ surrounded by their specific flora. As replicas of The Grotto of Massabielle, part of a Catholic sanctuary in the french city of Lourdes, the Lourdes grottos were re-built in the 19th and 20th centuries in various places, including Belgium. An artificial cave surrounded by a specific rock formation, accompanied by a niche for a statue of Saint Mary, sometimes provided with an altar, these caves represent an important place of local pilgrimage of Catholic believers. Rio Staelens: “Covered by mosses, ferns and rock plants, these sculptures have become one with nature. Often surrounded by exuberant exotic plants, a distant world that shows us the remains of a religious culture is evoked. Like the caves, which are reproductions and therefore a lie, the photographs project an image that is an illusion. A fantasy.“