The concept of occulture is constructed on the basis of two terms: “occult” refers to the western mystery/esoteric tradition concerned with arcane and hidden knowledge, and “culture” to the fact that this tradition has been becoming more popular in modern Western societies. The concept of occulture also opposes the simplified perception of Western culture as less religious and emphasizes instead, that it is becoming differently religious. Although institutional religions may be losing their significance, different forms of spirituality are taking part in ever growing process of re-enchantment. In the field of art this means a close and multi-faceted dialog between religion and art-making, in which one is feeding the other. In the hands of the artists occulture becomes a form of practice, that produces new identities, worldviews and power relations. In other words, art becomes a part of the processes in which the boundaries of the sacred, the secular, religion, spirituality and other categories are being shifted and created continuously anew.
-Nina Kokkinen, MA researcher/University of Turku, Finland
wyrd 