I designed a stained glass “tattoo” to represent the formless yet ubiquitous nature of Islam, the Qur’an, and religious influence.
In Children of the Alley by Naguib Mahfouz, the extended metaphor for religion is told in an almost transient way, portraying holy figures and God as normal human beings with imperfections. This can be seen in both a positive and a negative light — even though Mahfouz is daring in his approach and portrayal of religion, the stories give us a new vantage point from which we can view religion. The strange representation of God as a selfish and judgmental human being makes us question the nature of God and religion itself. God is often represented as a human, usually male. This generalization can limit religion and often strip religious people of spirituality, lending more influence to religious institutions.
I have used a window of glass to represent the way people view religion as a large influence on their daily lives. Regardless of whether people are religious, religion is an essential part of the human experience because it permeates aspects of all societies.
As we consider our relationships with religions, we may realize that, without institution, religion would be a completely personal experience. In privacy, we individualize our relationship with religion by determining what we believe and relating our personal beliefs to institutionalized views and practices. Here, I have symbolized the removal of the institutional religion by using a picture book image as a background for the “stained glass,” and showing what the colors look like without the structured backdrop. The “background” structure represents institutionalized beliefs that provide structure and context for individualized beliefs, which are represented in the colors. As people form their own individualized beliefs, they color their own religious experience.