a shrine to the Lover

A .PNG print-ready digital download of 'a shrine to the Lover' by Mercy Thokozane Minah.

Additional context for the piece:

In ‘a shrine to the Lover’ I wanted to explore what idolization of a lover looks like. In it, a figure is depicted holding a lit match over an altar, on which a halved papaya, peaches, and a bottle of wine have been arranged around a candle. Above this altar and the figure holding the match, is a large framed image of another figure, not unsimilar to images of deities religious people tend to have around their homes or, more fittingly, places of worship and prayer. There is also a note on the altar that reads “I manifested the loml (love of my life)”. The significance of this note is that it conveys the amount of value this figure places on having a romantic relationship and also, in having found their specific romantic partner. At face value, this work may appear sweet and even idealistic as a show of romantic devotion. However, the intimacy between the figure sitting at the altar and their partner pictured in the image above them is marred by a disproportionate level of admiration on the part of the former, toward the latter.