21st Faith

11
Untitled,
by Deji Feyisetan.
When I started to think about what faith meant to me as a millennial, I realised that
I had become quite disenfranchised from any form of religion that I had been socialised,
familiarised or indoctrinated to believe. However, I also acknowledge that it’s highly
ignorant to disregard the beliefs of others, because the same notion of social conditioning
applies to most, if not every other facet of life. What’s most logical to me about
the concept of faith is that it can validate a comforting, but ultimately human fallacy
of certainty - it can reassure people that there is a purpose to life and suffering and that
the people they once loved are in a better place.
Whilst I’m clearly sceptical and somewhat alienated by theological practice as a whole,
I think that there are still several habits and rituals in my life which most likely derive from
religion and the impact it had on my upbringing and how that subsequently shaped my
lens of existence.
This desire to understand existence or at least frame life experiences within a larger
narrative is paradigmatic of religion, but also the means through which we maintain
sanity in a life where we are required to fight our human nature everyday to fulfil our
basic needs. Though steeped in scepticism, ’The Ephemeral Loop’ expands on my original
assumption that the rationale behind religion(s) is universal and applies just as much
to secular communities.
Metaphysical imagery is a recurrent theme throughout my work, and has long been
a topic of interest for me as I find the principles poignant in reference to my perspective
and experiences during my formative years. In the series of giclée prints I aimed to draw
parallels between transcendental symbology and different societal customs
in a cross-cultural study where various digital techniques are used to convey
my perception of each sentiment. As the prints serve as a timeline of my perceptions,
I decided to pair each print and medium with a metaphysical symbol
and the corresponding number that best surmises my emotional state.
Deji: dejifeyisetan.co.uk, deji_f@live.com, @yuthdevine