In the various cultures of the world, even in the most ancient, water is the fundamental element, a generator of human and non-human life, which is celebrated and glorified through different rituals.
For the Buddhist religion, water is a symbol of purity and indicates purification. For the Hindu religion, water is a source of life and strength. In the Islamic religion, water is the substance with which Allah created man. The Jewish religion states that, at the beginning of Creation, the spirit of God hovered over the waters, so water is considered a manifestation of God. As for Christians, water is the origin of all things, namely the origin of creation.
In the Christian religion the moment of utmost contact with the element of water takes place during the celebration of Baptism.
Baptism consists, in positive terms, in immersing oneself in the death of Christ and in being generated as new creatures. In negative terms, it consists in the cancellation of the original sin, originating from the behaviour of Adam and Eve in the Earthly Paradise. Boglárka Éva Zellei, a young Hungarian photographer, talks about Baptism by immersion, focusing on the places where this religious ritual takes place. The whole project deals with the visual language of contemporary Christian communities, where everyday objects are arranged in new connections and have new meanings.
In these photos it is as if time stopped at the moment when the bodies reemerge from the holy water. This is sacred time, which interrupts ordinary time, an infinite piece present in the flow of constantly changing human conditions.
Words by Alice De Santis
Photo by Boglárka Éva Zellei