Juergen Teller – Crosses

Teller’s photographic elegy weaves art and fashion with martyrdom and spirituality

This latest photo essay by Juergen Teller (born 1964) details his visit to the compelling Hill of Crosses with his wife Dovile Drizyte and her parents in 2022. A pilgrimage and tourist site near Šiauliai, Lithuania, the Hill originated as a place of commemoration after the November Uprising of 1830–31. With his ever-curious eye, Teller captures the intense spirituality of this sacred destination. Responding to over 100,000 crucifixes within just one acre, his images embody this tangled web of religious iconography, from stone sculptures of Jesus draped in rosary beads to wooden effigies. The series takes on a deeper personal significance in the context of the recent passing of two of Teller’s most esteemed collaborators: designer Vivienne Westwood and gallerist Suzanne Tarasieve. He embeds portraits of these powerful women into his collection of symbolic images: a compelling tribute to two personalities who continue to inspire his work.