TABOO - TRANSGRESSION - TRANSCENDENCE

[ir]reverent: Blood Libel builds upon the themes of [ir]reverent: Miracles on Demand, in which the artist used Serratia marcescens—a bacterium known for producing a red, blood-like pigment—to simulate a Eucharistic "miracle." In this new performance, the exploration intensifies through the live staging of “host desecration.” The artist stabs a consecrated wafer, previously inoculated with Serratia marcescens, to trigger a dramatic “bleeding” effect. This wafer bears the inscription “In God We Trust,” linking divine faith directly to national currency and suggesting the long history of commodifying miracles in service of institutional power.

This visceral act reenacts the medieval anti-Semitic myth that Jews stabbed the Eucharist to make it bleed—a fabricated narrative that catalyzed centuries of persecution and religious hysteria. By orchestrating a miracle in plain sight, [ir]reverent: Blood Libel exposes the mechanics of belief, the seduction of spectacle, and the fragile line between the sacred and the profane.

The piece also draws attention to the continued potency of conspiratorial narratives. Just as blood libel accusations once weaponized fear against Jews, modern conspiracy theories—from QAnon to nationalist mythologies—rely on similar patterns of scapegoating, anxiety, and sensationalism. Blood Libel reveals the enduring entanglement of ritual, violence, and control—provoking viewers to reconsider where they place their trust, and at what cost.