After capturing the world’s most beautiful libraries, French photographer Thibaud Poirier explores another institution where worship is due: the Church. Sacred Spaces focuses on a selection of the world’s modernist churches, offering an inquisitive look at how their architecture and design have evolved to accommodate modernity without disturbing its deeply-rooted symbolisms and traditions. The inspiring variety of church designs swing from style to style: the Brutalist aesthetic of Tokyo’s Saint Mary’s Cathedral, the minimalist approach of Berlin’s Kapelle, or the warm, cozy ambiance lent by the latticed wood details of Notre Dame de Chêne’s impressive walls and ceilings.
Taken from a consistent angle — flanked by pews on both sides and facing the altar — Poirier’s amazing eye for symmetry and detail underline the grandeur these modernist structures possess, impressive enough to rival their much older counterparts. “And yet despite their great stylistic differences, the glue between these churches remains invisible to the human eye yet vibrates within each of us: the emotional state created whilst one is present,” the photographer says. “The sense of belonging. The conviction of something larger than us all.”
More of Poirier’s work on his website and Instagram.
Images © Thibaud Poirier / with permission