Neve Campbell

VIRTUAL TOUR

ARTIST CATALOGUE

The Body of Christ

I was born and raised in a strict religious family, Catholic by my maternal side, guided in the Catholic faith in practice and teaching. As a child, I struggled to grasp the ideologies and beliefs of the Roman Catholic faith. Now, as an adult, I recognize a misunderstanding of church teachings during my younger years. Although I state that I am fully accepting of my faith, I find that I still harbor a sense of my rebellious nature, challenging the narrative of my commitment and what I am willing to sacrifice, yet simultaneously honoring and practicing the faith. 

My work explores the sacrament of the Eucharist, the breaking of the bread and wine that becomes the body and blood of Christ. It discusses not merely accepting a symbolic presence but Jesus’s actual presence – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, which involves receiving Christ in heart and soul. The symbolism of the body of Christ holds multifaceted significance that extends beyond theological doctrine, as a metaphor for communal embodiment and collective identity with cultural and artistic practice. I recognize that this symbolism encapsulates notions of unity, interconnectedness, and shared purpose, which are essential to understanding the relational dynamics I aim to foster. The body of Christ exemplifies a diverse yet unified entity, comprising individuals who, through their participation, form a cohesive whole. 

By presenting the audience as an active member in an emerging collective body rather than just an observer, the metaphorical framework guides my work. In this sense, my art serves as an analogical body. a participatory, immersive environment that invites viewers to enter the experience. Building upon this conceptualization of the body of Christ as a collective unity and relationally, it is pertinent to explore theological articulations that underline the significance of active participation and sacramental embodiment. The work revolves around many themes that intersect, correspond, and diverge from one another: sacrifice, repulsion, attraction, maternal honor, feminism, self-examination, the church, the body (theoretical and practical), ceremonial and nonconforming. Labour entails the sacrifice of time, gathering and searching for different fabrics, the process of dyeing and staining the found or donated fabrics. The labour in tearing and cutting up the materials, bundling them up and then creating the woven and crocheted works. I chose to work with fabric as it is a versatile, flexible, and durable material. I opted for textile methods like sewing, crochet, stitching, and weaving, all techniques I learnt from my maternal line, passed down through generations to the women in my family. The labour of this is to honour my maternal love and dedication to my faith. 

Video pieces are scattered amongst the work, showing the process of how the pieces are made. I strive to draw out an overwhelming and sensory-rich experience for my viewer, not necessarily to sympathise, but to invite the feeling of the moment. Becoming one with a being of great spirituality. By framing the audience as active participants in a collective rather than mere observers, the work metaphorically presents art as a body. this participatory approach invites viewers into an immersive experience, connecting with the concept of the body of Christ as a relational unity.