“A little saint best fits a little shrine," said Robert Herrick. For millennia, the human spirit has assembled objects that help us feel safe, connected, holy and in control. Up until the last century or so, these objects were deeply rooted in cultural tradition. Then the impossible happened. A break, a schism, a rupture occurred in the fabric of humanity and the buttons of religion flew off in a thousand directions. Nina Gaby’s Pocket Shrines are intimate sacred vessels that incorporate the fragments of those old religions: Virgin Mary, Maneki Neko, dice, glitter, etc. Each Shrine is an ornamented box that contains a tassel of sacred objects reflecting its theme or purpose.

Blessed is a 3”x2”x1” ornamented box that contains a tassel of sacred objects reflecting its purpose.

"I had people come into my gallery and say, 'Oh my God, Nina, have you gone through some sort of conversion?' It’s not about that at all. It’s all about the fact that all these symbols, no matter where they come from, are incredibly important to somebody and have an incredible beauty in and of themselves."—Nina Gaby

Details: 3”x2”x1" | sculptural object, mixed media | 2005 | edition: 1-of-1