Exhibited for the first time in Madrid, Incarnator by Paul Pfeiffer is a multi-media installation consisting of a single projected video channel and a series of figurative wooden carved sculptural objects. In this work, Pfeiffer used as his starting point the revered role of the ‘encarnador’ – a sculptor of holy Catholic figures created as the focal points of religious observance. Encarnadores are celebrated for having the power to apparently breathe life into inanimate sculptures, creating life-like effigies that seduce the eye into believing that consciousness has been awoken in simple carved wood and paint. In the Philippines, this power of reanimation can be observed through mass devotion to the Santo Niño de Cebú, a religious icon brought to the islands as a gift from Spain in 1521 by Magellan, making it one of the oldest Christian relics in the country. This sculptural tradition continues in the present, through the production of Catholic idols carved by encarnadores and used for personal and communal devotion.

Central to this group of objects in Pfeiffer’s installation are the composite parts of an almost life-size carving of the pop star Justin Bieber. Though presented in parts, the sculpted figure is carved in resurrection form, complete with the phrase ‘Son of God’ tattooed across his chest. Bieber was discovered as a twelve-year-old child via a video performance he posted on YouTube, and was quickly propelled to world superstardom by an
industry quick to capitalise on the power of youth. Since then, his image has come to represent an iconic, eternally youthful innocence, a phenomenon made palpable in the devotional intensity of his concert performances.