Inner Light by Mark Templeton

During the late 20th century, American christianity desperately chased after trends in secular culture, appropriating elements of consumerism and technology in an effort to avoid losing ground with younger generations. Inner Light by Mark Templeton represents the death knell of this appropriationist era, chopping and screwing a series of flashy, shimmery christian meditation cassette tapes from the 70s and 80s to point out the absurdity of using such sounds in organized worship. Removed from their original contexts, these snippets fall apart into their components of lo-fi synth pads and field recordings, stripping them of any qualities that distinguish them from the new wave pop tunes of the era. The appropriationist megachurch stands rightfully empty as Templeton’s work rings out, acknowledging this place’s simultaneous failure as a testament to God and as a testament to consumer culture, emptying of any presumption of meaning until only a pathetic husk remains.