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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”
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