Picture in Focus: Corpus Delicti Nativity Set by Oliver Fabel

December 16, 2018

Picture in Focus: Corpus Delicti Nativity Set by Oliver Fabel

"Less is more" is the mantra of German Designer Oliver Fabel, who created this week's new manger scene in a minimalist style from the Sacred Art Pilgrim Collection. With the exception of the cradle and the Baby Jesus, the other "figures" in this Christmas display are similar-sized wooden blocks, resembling pieces in a Jenga game, with printed labels to identify them as "Mary," "Joseph," Shepherd," "King," "Ox," or "Ass." The ironic Latin title, Corpus Delicti (akin to Corpus Christi) literally means "body of offense," referring to the evidence of a crime, and hints, perhaps, at the many mysteries surrounding the Birth of Christ and the unusual ensemble of characters involved in the event. The Fabel creche joins another "no frills" manger scene from Britain in the gallery of the Nativity Sets and Scenes page in the Schools of Sacred Art section (John Kohan)