A Dedication to Saint Ursula

Tsai, Char-Wei

《A Dedication to Saint Ursula》is a printing photograph created in a Paris medieval church at the invitation of Pompidou curators. Among all the niches commemorating saints, Tsai chooses the niche of Saint Ursula as her inspiration. A pious Christian, Ursula dedicated herself to Jesus. However, opposed by her father, Ursula led 11,000 virgins to flee from Paris to Rome. However, she was miserably abused to death by mobs on the journey. To memorize Ursula’s faith, people buried a piece of her bone under the niche. In front of Ursula’s relics placed Tsai rose petals, on which she wrote texts derived from “The Body in Pain” written by American contemporary female writer Elaine Scarry, so as to echo the tortures Ursula and her 11,000 virgin companions had suffered. Every rose petal symbolizes the martyrs, and writing on the petals highlights female vulnerability. Three months later, the petals withered away, just as thoughts disappeared as time went by.