Sacred and Profane is a photographic project by Scottish artist Calum Colvin, produced between 1997 and 1998 and first exhibited at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh. Commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, the series reinterprets Old Master artworks within contemporary domestic settings, merging sculpture, painting, and photography.
Sacred and Profane examines the juxtaposition of "high" art with the commonplace. Colvin constructs elaborate three-dimensional sets filled with domestic clutter—hostess trolleys, ironing boards, and flame-effect electric fires—onto which he paints replicas or reinterpretations of works by Titian, Rubens, and Canova. When photographed from a fixed perspective using a large-format De Vere 10x8 camera, these sets flatten into cohesive images, blurring distinctions between illusion and reality. The technique embodies his central inquiry into the nature of vision and photographic truth, especially relevant in the late 1990s as digital imaging began challenging the assumed objectivity of the medium.
Technically speaking, Colvin’s work is characterized by vivid color and theatrical lighting, initially produced using the Cibachrome process. His compositions appear seamless from one vantage point but dissolve into fragments if approached differently, creating a palimpsest of painted imagery and physical object.
Following its 1998 commission premiere in Edinburgh, Sacred and Profane traveled to the National Machado de Castro Museum (1998) and Martha Schneider Gallery (1999), with additional Scottish venues between 1998–2003. A National Galleries catalog—James Lawson, essay—framed the work’s inquiry and supported continued citation.
