Plastic Jesus

From 2006 to 2023, the Russian-Swedish photographer and curator Xenia Nikolskaya travelled to Egyptian churches and monasteries documenting noteworthy Coptic artefacts and holy relics. The impressive images in the collection bear witness to the profound and enigmatic connection between Coptic believers and their centuries-old traditions and rituals—but also to the changes they are undergoing in the face of today’s mass consumerist culture. Plastic Jesus is both a tribute to the power of the fantastical and an empathetic examination of lived spirituality and its material expression. In this context, faith is revealed in everyday wonders, large and small, that transcend religion in the conventional sense.