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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Ninety: 101 ways to interpret Bolivia > After the mass, Sucre Cathedral, Sucre, Bolivia, 2014
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15-MAY-2014

After the mass, Sucre Cathedral, Sucre, Bolivia, 2014

A house of worship can be used communally to express religious faith en masse. It also offers individuals a sanctuary for prayer or simply a place, surrounded by history and art, to sit quietly and think or meditate. For more than 400 years, this particular cathedral has been used in both ways. In this interpretive image, a woman sits alone in the cathedral, caught in the grasp of the sunrays pouring in through an unseen window directly above her. She represents a community of one. There are no choirs or priests or worshippers present. A work of religious art is bathed in the golden rays of light as well. Yet the woman looks straight ahead. She is absorbing the nature of the place itself, and is left to her own thoughts. Some may interpret the streaming rays of the sun as a spiritual or divine symbol. (Some photographers even refer to them as “God’s Rays.”) My interpretation, however, is quite different. To me, the streaming rays of light represent the presence of nature, while the cathedral and its religious art is the creative work of man. I see this person sitting in the presence of that art, and within those rays. She is free to interpret, use, and enjoy her surroundings as she wishes.

FujiFilm X-M1
1/170s f/5.6 at 50.0mm iso800 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time15-May-2014 07:11:10
MakeFujiFilm
ModelX-M1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length50 mm
Exposure Time1/169 sec
Aperturef/5.6
ISO Equivalent800
Exposure Bias-1.00
White Balance
Metering Mode
JPEG Quality
Exposure Program
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis03-Aug-2014 20:44
Thanks for your comment, Celia. I agree that the more common interpretation of this scene is usually spiritual. I can see why -- the surroundings are all religious, and rays of light shining down on people are usually seen as a spiritual reference. My own interpretation is more about nature and man. To me, the light symbolizes the work oF nature, while the religious context symbolizes the work and beliefs of man. It is up to each individual, represented by the woman grasped by those rays, to come to their own understanding of such things.
Cecilia Lim01-Aug-2014 21:31
The rays shining upon her seem to connect her to the heavens, as if she's been specially chosen to receive blessings whatever they may be. It's a beautiful image!
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