The Holiness movement began with a series of Methodist revivals that occurred in 1867. In the 18th century, John Wesley first introduced the doctrine that salvation required two "blessings," or religious experiences. The first, justification, represents a believer's conversion. The second, sanctification, signifies an individual's purification. In this stage, the individual reaches a state of "holiness" that enables him or her to lead a pure life, free from sin.

In the 20th century, several Holiness churches began to advocate a third blessing, the Pentecostal experience, which included speaking in tongues to indicate an individual's "baptism by the Holy Spirit", handling serpents, handling fire, and drinking poison. Signs followers within Holiness churches refer to these signs within the book of Mark 16: 17-18 of the King James Bible.

Mark 16:

17. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

GLORYLAND, Untitled #39, 2022

Archival Pigment Print

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Physical prints available exclusively through Fahey/Klein Gallery & Digital 1 of 1’s via SuperRare

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30 x 40 inches, Edition of 5

40 x 60 inches, Edition of 5

West Virginia and the Appalachian Mountains have an allure about them that is almost impossible to ignore. The country is rugged and so are the individuals who inhabit these mountains. As you ascend into the deep mountain of Appalachia, the roads begin to wind almost unimaginably. As you drive, sharp left and right turns seem to never end as Empress trees and Black Pines hug the roads like guardians of a passageway. Large metal structures from coal mines stand like old ruins. As you continue to drive deeper and deeper within the mountains small towns start to pop up, not more than 1/2 mile in length alongside Route 16. For every ten homes there seems to be a church, affirming that the presence of religion is strong and deeply rooted in these mountains.

A small church by the name "The House of The Lord Jesus" sits on the side of the road in the quiet and humble town of Squire, with a population of fewer than 300 people. If you didn't know any better, you'd think it's just like all the other churches you pass by while driving up the windy mountain roads. This Holiness church practices what is called "signs following." The church is small and is run by pastor Chris Wolford. Twelve church pews (six on each side) take up the majority of the space. Old wood panels cover the walls and red burgundy carpet melds with a wood floor at the front of the church. As you walk down the center of the church you see women laying on their knees bent over the pews praying and crying before the service begins. The sound of rattlesnake rattlers fill the air and multiple boxes are laid out behind the pulpit, while the guitar begins to blair over the speakers at full volume. The music is incredible...with a mix of delta blues and bluegrass, it's a style of its own and specific to this type of worship within the applications. Women are spinning in their flowing dresses and their long hair is wrapped up in cloths. Chris grabs a mason jar. Within it is a mixture of water and strychnine poison. Small dixie cups line the front of the pulpit as he fills one and takes a shot. A bottle is brought out, stuffed with alcohol and homemade wick. He lights the top and flames rise above the glass bottle. He screams passionately in praises as he holds the bottle underneath his chin. He eventually passes the lit bottle to his mother as she also holds it under her chin and begins to spin in circles. Chris jumps and dances in a stomping manner and praises the Lord as beads of sweat and tears stream down his head and face. He reaches and grabs one of the wooden boxes from behind him, and flips open the plexiglass lid. He pulls out a diamondback rattlesnake and holds it straight into the air. He jumps around, dances, and screams in praise as the serpent rests in his hand and looks over the church. The energy is so palpable it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up and the feeling is almost unexplainable.

There is death in this, as well as a lot of suffering for the church and this whole region of West Virginia. But I came to understand why the Appalachians have this mystic quality. They're full of love and compassion...you just have to sift through all the coal dust to find it.

Welcome to GLORYLAND.

GLORYLAND, Untitled #2, 2018

Archival Pigment Print

Signed, Titled, Dated, Numbered Verso

Physical prints available exclusively through Fahey/Klein Gallery & Digital 1 of 1’s via SuperRare

Available Sizes:

20 x 30 inches, Edition of 5

30 x 40 inches, Edition of 5

40 x 60 inches, Edition of 5

GLORYLAND was awarded the Fellowship Futures Grant. This grant supported the first online mint of the collection and acquisition for the Fellowship estate. GLORYLAND is available through Fahey/Klein Gallery and SuperRare.

The Fahey/Klein Gallery is devoted to the enhancement of the public’s appreciation of the medium of photography through the exhibition and sale of 20th Century and Contemporary Fine Art Photography. Since the gallerys inception, our exhibition program has embraced a broad range of diverse photographers from Edward Weston to Berenice Abbott; Man Ray to Henri Cartier-Bresson; Irving Penn to Melvin Sokolsky; Horst P. Horst to Herb Ritts; Peter Beard to James Nachtwey, among many others. The Fahey/Klein Gallery is a leader in the field of Photography and is respected among collectors and colleagues. This position of leadership is a result of our dedication to the medium of photography, experience, and knowledge, which, over the many years, has been enhanced by the wide range of services the gallery offers.

SuperRare is a marketplace to collect and trade unique, single-edition digital artworks. Each artwork is authentically created by an artist in the network, and tokenized as a crypto-collectible digital item that you can own and trade.

Fellowship is a platform created by artists, curators and collectors striving to transition the photographic medium into the NFT space. Through combined efforts to foster historical context for NFT photography, educate new audiences on photographic practices, and support new photographers entering into this new and innovative technological paradigm. Fellowship Studio onboards new photographers into the NFT space, organizes drops of their work, and provides tools for artists to achieve sovereignty in their NFT practice. Photographers who work with Fellowship Studio are included in an educational online database, providing audiences with keen insight into the careers and practices of the world’s leading image-makers. Fellowship works with Aerial, a sustainability platform, to carbon offset all the mint costs and help you enter the NFT space sustainably.