Analogous Jerusalem: Book Talk with Gili Merin

Using the concept of Analogy, this book shows how Jerusalem’s sacred topography was replicated across rural and urban sites in Medieval Europe. Analogous Jerusalemis the result of a five-year photographic journey exploring dozens of these “analogous” shrines, revealing how architecture has the power to translate sanctity across time and space.

Alongside photographs and original drawings, the book consists of a three-part essay by the author and a prologue by Pier Vittorio Aureli. Together, these elements take the reader on a travelogue to alternative Jerusalems that are possibly more “real” than the holy city itself. Considering how many wars are waged over narratives, memories, and territories, the urgency of spatial-analogical thinking cannot be over stated.

In this talk, Merin will be joined by MA course leader, Diana Ibánez López, to discuss landscape, photography, rituals, and the power of analogy. Time will be given to questions and discussion.