Marienbaum is a public space art project as well as a book project by Helmut and Johanna Kandl that features some amazing insights into miracles, visions, visionaries and souvenir shops. Johanna and Helmut Kandl travelled to pilgrimage sites in Europe to purchase replica pictures and statues of the Virgin Mary for the Marytree in the municipality of Herrnbaumgarten in Lower Austria. They also brought back an interesting and entertaining collection of anecdotes, tales and snapshots. In Loreto for instance, nuns struck a pose for the camera in front of a red vintage Fiat; in Poland a dealer in devotional objects embraced the Kandls out of joy over their purchase; and in Mariazell pilgrims are photographed making “bunny ears” to one another. It is a fresh and decidedly non-sanctimonious look at the way in which the Virgin Mary is venerated, ranging from large events to prayers, from Lourdes to Vilnius, Loreto, Fatima, Czestochowa and Maria Taferl.

Johanna Kandl, *1954 in Vienna, Austria.
Helmut Kandl, *1953 in Laa an der Thaya, Austria. Both live and work in Vienna and Berlin.