What is faith? And what is religion? Are they truly the same?

Faith is a deep inner experience - something deeply personal, coming from within. It is trust in what cannot be seen, touched, or heard, and yet can be felt.

Religion is a structure built to gather faith into a system of rules, texts, rituals and authority. It tries to give faith a shape, to carve out a space for it, to encourage sharing it with others, to help find those who feel the same.

Religion can be a source of support, but just as often, it becomes a tool of control: political, moral, legal, emotional.

The very system of paternalistic religion is designed to prevent the development of critical thinking. Why take responsibility for your choices and decisions if the “best” has already been decided for you?

In order to spread faith, religion created thousands of symbolic forms - chalices, statues, icons. Objects infused with belief.

Yet when faith settles onto an object, there is a risk: people cease to feel directly. They believe not in the essence, but in the object that replaces this meaning.

Over time, these forms have become objects of control - "holiness according to the rules."  And all is left for people is to bow, not to feel. They believe in an icon or statuette, forgetting what is behind these symbols.

This project continues my exploration of form. Its aim is to discover what remains of faith once the weight of religious dictate is stripped away.

This project is about abandoning dogma.

I create objects that could become sacred after certain manipulations. But what are they without the Church? When belief is no longer mandatory, when faith returns to being a personal choice.

What remains of a symbol once its meaning is removed? What is a holy chalice if you simply put flowers in it?