Jan Tregot

Recycling the sacred past

Sculptor Jan Tregot exhibits in the Museum of All Times with re-used statues of saints.

His work deals with cultural change and can be seen as a form of cultural analysis.
Many sculptures are a representation of secularization and de-churching. The cultural analytical approach is emphasized in his work by the reuse of saints' statues.
The statues of saints have no religious meaning for him. They do have a cultural charge and that is why they are material for Jan Tregot to work with.
The figure of Christ functions in his work as a symbol for Christian culture and not as a “religious” object. Christianity is no longer culturally defining and the devotional aspect of saints’ statues only functions within certain religious communities. It is not something that still gives direction to our society, but something that belongs to our past. But we cannot (yet) leave that past behind us completely. The Christian heritage remains present. That is why Jan Tregot connects the heritage with current events in his work. Through his adaptation, the discarded saints’ statues are placed in a contemporary context.