Skip to main content

T.O.L.E.R.A.N.C.E.

 

T.O.L.E.R.A.N.C.E.

OCTOBER 28, 2016BAREFOOT TRAVELS, EUROPE

Throwback to September 2015, we were enthralled by this temporary installation of the iconic sculpture by Guy Ferrer at the gateway to the ancient city of Carcassonne.

It consists of 9 letters in bronze, each representing a letter of the word with carvings of figures of priests, and other representations of different religions. Each sculpture is about 2.5m tall, and along with the pedestals, they rise to 4 m or more. So tall and with the sun in my eyes, I was unable to capture the full extent of the work in some of the shots. ( just refer to the featured image for what it’s meant to look like – I promise to brush up on my photography skills )

” A word becomes meaningful because of all of its letters, each one indispensable and of equal importance to convey the meaning.

In the same way, the different cultures and spiritual beliefs of our societies can live together in brotherhood and complete each other, in the knowledge of reciprocal respect and a bit of kindness.

Mysterious and grave, my emissaries invite you to meet them, to respect their differences and the beliefs which they suggest. Together, and meeting on the same site, they speak to us of encounter and harmony, of peaceful completeness.

As humans, we all have in common, inherent in our nature and based on the awareness of  being vulnerable, the quest for stability and peace, in reaction to the violence caused by opposing religions and beliefs. This situation seems to get worst day after day as an inscreasing sense of urgency is driving us to act now!

Yet the mosaic of beliefs and cultures make the world…

By this sculpture, I wanted to bring to light the likeness of the quest, whatever it is and whatever the “god” to which it is addressed. It is this similarity, this convergence which should be demonstrated, instead of the differences caused by unproven speculations or groundless fundamentalist assertions regarding the divine – inherently ambiguous and therefore questionable.

Each of the letters, by its particular style, evokes a belief of the world. But the interpretations are left deliberately open to the imagination of everyone…  ”  (Guy Ferrer)

It is evocative and meditative at the same time. I hope it will inspire and uplift readers in the same way as it did for me!

Tolerance standing tall
Tolerance standing tall
T
“T”
"O"
“O”
"L"
“L”
"E"
“E”
"R"
“R”
"A"
“A”
"N"
“N”
"C"
“C”
"E"
“E”
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Perspectives

  So What If The Day Started Badly This morning, as I was reversing my car out of the porch for a dental appointment, I drove right into a van who just happened to park in front of the house across the road, right at the very instant. The knee jerk instinct was to feel sorry and angry with myself at the same time. I said a little prayer for comfort and that the rest of the day would turn out better, with small mercies along the way. I also texted G, telling him what happened and that I was a little shaken by the incident, trivial as it was. The text came back " No worries". It was all the comfort I needed - no judgment, no reproof, just a quiet understanding and acceptance. The Rest Of the Day Got the tooth fixed, had my comfort food for lunch, left car with dented bumper with mechanic, took a bus to Ang Mo Kio library to while away the time. Along the way, discovered my favorite Yong Tau Foo franchise had moved to the food centre here, much nearer home, and also picked up a ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Reflections on Father's Day ( First posted on FB on 20 Jun 2022 )

  Reflections on Father's Day Hi Daddy, you must be having a great time in heaven, together with Mum. Although we never had a close father-daughter relationship, I choose to remember those moments which were special to me - like the outings to Esplanade Park, Satay Club with Mum when I was little, accompanying me to take the school bus on my first day of school, how your face lit up when you attended my university graduation. Growing up, I have often envied other people's daddies and wished you were more like them. I wished I could talk to you when I had my first crush on a boy, felt ugly because my face was full of pimples during my teenage years, looked into the mirror and hated what I saw...So I decided that since I wasn't pretty, I could be clever instead, and lost myself in an alternative world of adventure, imagination and books by Enid Blyton, Alfred Hitchcock, Agatha Christie, Perry Mason, anything and everything I could get my hands on... At home, you were either...
Post a Comment
Read more

Special Residents of Istanbul and Ephesus

 My recent road trip of Turkey traversed several cities. But it was mostly in Istanbul ( and a few more in Ephesus ) that cats who roamed the streets with the familiarity of a resident, independent and free, yet well-provided with food, shelter, water and loving affection.  On our very first day, we bought a bag of cat food and fed them whenever we encountered them. Some were hungry and responded to us, but others kept their distance, or came over to sniff at the kibbles and walked away. It warmed our hearts to see these adorable creatures as part of the landscape and culture of a most memorable trip in a land so richly endowed with the legacy of the past facing a challenging future ahead. Here's a gallery of cuteness overload. This link best sums up the history and back story of these adorable felines.  https://consciouscat.net/relationship-between-istanbul-and-its-cats/
Post a Comment
Read more