Jérémie Koering's 'Iconophages' Explores the Historical Practice of Consuming Images and Artworks

Jérémie Koering's academic study 'Iconophages: A History of Ingesting Images' examines the long tradition of swallowing images, artifacts, and artworks. Published by Zone Books for £30 in hardcover, the book traces this practice from ancient Egyptian healing rituals using stone figures and stelae to early Christian material-spiritual migrations. Medieval examples include the 1170 martyrdom of Thomas Becket at Canterbury, where his blood-soaked shirt infused water cured paralysis, and depictions of Bernard of Clairvaux receiving breastmilk from the Virgin Mary. The Reformation era saw antipapist outrage and satirical works like William Hogarth's 'Enthusiasm Delineated' (1760–62) featuring statue-eating congregants. Modern and contemporary art references include Piero Manzoni's 'Uova' (1960), Dennis Oppenheim's 'Gingerbread Man' (1970), and John Cage's 'Wild Edible Drawings' (1990). Koering, a professor of early-modern art history at the University of Fribourg, presents nearly a hundred pages of notes exploring how these practices challenge categories like representation and aesthetic experience. The book opens with a cinematic reference to Ralph Fiennes consuming William Blake's watercolor in 'Red Dragon' (2002), highlighting the enduring fascination with image consumption across religious, artistic, and cultural contexts.