The Sacred & The Profane
The sacred and the profane have long existed as central and contradictory features of human societies, shaping the use and understanding of symbols and iconography. Images that once held profound sacred significance—such as prehistoric goddess figurines and the yoni symbol—were later recast as profane or even demonized with the rise of monotheistic religions like Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – a transformation reflecting a shift in power, belief systems, and cultural narratives that sought to redefine what was considered holy.
In prehistoric and early agrarian societies, the female body was often venerated as a sacred symbol of fertility, creation, and the cycle of life and death. Figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf (c. 28,000–25,000 BCE) and other Palaeolithic and Neolithic representations of the goddess depicted an exaggerated female form, emphasizing its reproductive and nurturing aspects. Similarly, the yoni—an abstract or stylized representation of female genitalia—was also revered in ancient cultures, particularly in South Asia, as a powerful symbol of the generative force of the universe.
With the emergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there was a shift and an emphasis on a transcendent, singular male deity, and, as a result, the sacred feminine gradually lost its centrality. The monotheistic traditions sought to establish a strict division between the divine and the material world, often portraying bodily and earthly representations of the sacred as idolatrous or sinful. The worship of goddess figures and fertility symbols came to be associated with paganism, superstition, and heresy. In some cases, these images were actively destroyed or reinterpreted through a moralizing lens that framed them as corrupting influences.
This was particularly evident in early Christianity, which positioned itself in opposition to the polytheistic and goddess-worshipping traditions that had existed in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. The transformation of figures like Lilith—who may have had older roots as a fertility goddess—into demonic beings reflects this process of desacralization. Likewise, the yoni, once a potent symbol of divine creation, was rebranded as obscene or pornographic in many Western religious traditions, although its sacred status continued in Hinduism.
The suppression of these symbols was not merely theological but also political. By undermining the sacredness of female-centric imagery and fertility rites, religious authorities reinforced patriarchal structures that prioritized male divine authority. The desacralization of these icons contributed to a worldview that saw the female body as inherently tied to sin, leading to centuries of moral policing, censorship, and repression of sexuality.
Yet, these symbols never fully disappeared, and the resurgence of interest in pre-Christian, pre-Islamic, and pre-Judaic iconography highlights the enduring power of these images, as they continue to challenge and reconfigure our understanding of the sacred and the profane. This project is a narrative of the artist´s own interpretation of a reclamation of prehistoric goddess imagery and sacred feminine symbols, reinterpreting them as expressions of empowerment, autonomy, and resistance to patriarchal religious narratives.
The Sacred and the Profane is a conceptual art project by Elizabeth Khoury that interrogates the transformation of the sacred—particularly the sacred feminine—into objects of control, censorship, and profanation. Through painting and drawing, with an installation-based approach to how the works are presented, Khoury explores what was once revered, venerated, and symbolic of divine power, especially in depictions of women, and how these images have been stripped of their spiritual potency over time. Drawing from ancient iconography, religious symbology, and mythological archetypes, the project reclaims and reimagines the female figure as both sacred and defiant. It questions who has the authority to define the sacred and why the feminine has so often been recast as taboo, obscene, or dangerous.
The works are layered with fragments—halos and graffiti, temple ruins and contemporary ephemera—echoing the collapse of old belief systems and the birth of new narratives. Arranged as an immersive visual dialogue, the drawings and paintings interact with one another and their environment, creating a space where the boundary between reverence and repression, divinity and desire, purity and power is continually negotiated. At its core, The Sacred and the Profane is an act of visual resistance: a reclamation of the feminine spirit, not as a relic of the past but as a force re-emerging in new, potent forms.
In prehistoric and early agrarian societies, the female body was often venerated as a sacred symbol of fertility, creation, and the cycle of life and death. Figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf (c. 28,000–25,000 BCE) and other Palaeolithic and Neolithic representations of the goddess depicted an exaggerated female form, emphasizing its reproductive and nurturing aspects. Similarly, the yoni—an abstract or stylized representation of female genitalia—was also revered in ancient cultures, particularly in South Asia, as a powerful symbol of the generative force of the universe.
With the emergence of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, there was a shift and an emphasis on a transcendent, singular male deity, and, as a result, the sacred feminine gradually lost its centrality. The monotheistic traditions sought to establish a strict division between the divine and the material world, often portraying bodily and earthly representations of the sacred as idolatrous or sinful. The worship of goddess figures and fertility symbols came to be associated with paganism, superstition, and heresy. In some cases, these images were actively destroyed or reinterpreted through a moralizing lens that framed them as corrupting influences.
This was particularly evident in early Christianity, which positioned itself in opposition to the polytheistic and goddess-worshipping traditions that had existed in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. The transformation of figures like Lilith—who may have had older roots as a fertility goddess—into demonic beings reflects this process of desacralization. Likewise, the yoni, once a potent symbol of divine creation, was rebranded as obscene or pornographic in many Western religious traditions, although its sacred status continued in Hinduism.
The suppression of these symbols was not merely theological but also political. By undermining the sacredness of female-centric imagery and fertility rites, religious authorities reinforced patriarchal structures that prioritized male divine authority. The desacralization of these icons contributed to a worldview that saw the female body as inherently tied to sin, leading to centuries of moral policing, censorship, and repression of sexuality.
Yet, these symbols never fully disappeared, and the resurgence of interest in pre-Christian, pre-Islamic, and pre-Judaic iconography highlights the enduring power of these images, as they continue to challenge and reconfigure our understanding of the sacred and the profane. This project is a narrative of the artist´s own interpretation of a reclamation of prehistoric goddess imagery and sacred feminine symbols, reinterpreting them as expressions of empowerment, autonomy, and resistance to patriarchal religious narratives.
The Sacred and the Profane is a conceptual art project by Elizabeth Khoury that interrogates the transformation of the sacred—particularly the sacred feminine—into objects of control, censorship, and profanation. Through painting and drawing, with an installation-based approach to how the works are presented, Khoury explores what was once revered, venerated, and symbolic of divine power, especially in depictions of women, and how these images have been stripped of their spiritual potency over time. Drawing from ancient iconography, religious symbology, and mythological archetypes, the project reclaims and reimagines the female figure as both sacred and defiant. It questions who has the authority to define the sacred and why the feminine has so often been recast as taboo, obscene, or dangerous.
The works are layered with fragments—halos and graffiti, temple ruins and contemporary ephemera—echoing the collapse of old belief systems and the birth of new narratives. Arranged as an immersive visual dialogue, the drawings and paintings interact with one another and their environment, creating a space where the boundary between reverence and repression, divinity and desire, purity and power is continually negotiated. At its core, The Sacred and the Profane is an act of visual resistance: a reclamation of the feminine spirit, not as a relic of the past but as a force re-emerging in new, potent forms.
