Reliquaries are containers for storing relics or holy objects. These objects are often the remains of something that has been destroyed or decayed. Thek’s meat works were inspired by a trip to the catacombs in Sicily where rows of human remains are kept—many of them in glass boxes or coffins with windows.
“Inside the glittery, swanky cases—the ‘modern art’ materials that were all the rage at the time, Formica and glass and plastic—was something very unpleasant, very frightening, and looking absolutely real.”
—Paul Thek
