What is faith? And what is religion? Is faith the same as religion?
Faith is a deep, inner experience. It is always personal, something that comes from within. It is trust in something that cannot be seen, touched, or heard—but can be felt.
Religion is a structure designed to organise faith into a system of rules, texts, rituals, and authority. Its aim is to give faith a form, to create a space for it, to encourage sharing one’s beliefs with others, to find like-minded people.
Religion can be a source of support, but very often it becomes a tool of control—political, moral, legal, emotional.
The very system of paternalistic religion is constructed in a way that discourages the development of critical thinking. Why take responsibility for your own choices and decisions if someone has already decided “what’s best” for you?
In the name of spreading faith, religion has created thousands of symbolic forms—chalices, statues, icons. Objects imbued with belief.
But when faith is transferred onto an object, a risk arises: a person ceases to feel directly—they no longer believe in the meaning, but in the object that substitutes that meaning.
Over time, these forms became objects of control—“holiness by rules.” What was left to the individual was only to worship, not to feel. They believe in an icon or a statuette, but forget what lies behind these symbols.
This project continues my exploration of form. Its purpose is to examine what remains of faith when religious dictatorship is stripped away. It is about the rejection of dogma.
I create objects that could become sacred through certain rituals. But what are they without the Church? When belief is not compulsory, when faith is your own choice.
What remains of a symbol once its meaning is removed? What is a holy chalice if it simply holds flowers?
Sofia Horbachevska
23—25.06.2025
Opening: 23 June at 18:00