The Church by Alexander Tovborg

A monograph by Copenhagen-based Danish artist Alexander Tovborg. Published in conjunction with the exhibition held at the Danish contemporary art museum Kunsthal Charlottenborg in May 2023. The artist explores the mysteries and paradoxes of faith and the mysteries of images, with photographs by artist Mishael Fapohunda and design by Åbäke.

Based on the artist’s own interpretation of Christian iconography, the immersive and sacred atmosphere of the church-like space is vividly captured through Fapohunda’s photographs and beautifully and delicately rendered through the printing techniques.

The publication includes a conversation between the artist and curator and writer Francesca Astesani, delving into the themes of spirituality and iconography, and tracing how the sacred has always played a central role in the artist’s practice and life.

“For me, it is all about communicating the mystery of religious faith with a feeling. We cannot explain it. That is the beauty of believing.”

“For me it is all about communicating the mystery of religious faith with a feeling. We cannot explain it and that’s the beauty of believing.” —Alexander Tovborg

The publication Alexander Tovborg: The Church. Photographed by Mishael Fapohunda, edited and designed by Åbäke, follows the artist’s eponymous exhibition at Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen (2023), in which Tovborg investigated the mysteries and paradoxes of faith, as well as the power of images.Through the photographs taken by visual artist Mishael Fapohunda, the immersive and sacred atmosphere of the space, architecturally shaped on the model of a church according to Tovborg’s own interpretation of Christian iconography, is vividly captured. The book includes a conversation between the artist and curator and writer Francesca Astesani, delving into the themes of spirituality, iconography, and tracing how the sacred has always played a central role in Tovborg’s practice and life.