You can buy anything on the internet. If you lose your charger, order a new one. If you can't be bothered to go grocery shopping, ship them straight to your door. And if you desire unconditional love, you can purchase "globuli balls" for just $45.
Austrian photographer Klaus Pichler bought this and around 50 other unusual products for his series This Will Change Your Life Forever. It's a surreal look at esotericism, a blanket term for beliefs that venture outside traditional religions. “As I did research, I found out the spirituality is just a layer of lacquer on a really capitalist business,” says Pichler.
Esotericism began over a thousand years ago, including Gnosticism in the first century AD and the New Age movement in the 1970s. The latter coincided nicely with the rise of the internet in the decades that followed, and countless forums dedicated to the dark arts and spirituality quickly sprung up online. Today, believers chat on Facebook groups about otherworldly entities, watch YouTube tutorials on expelling negative energy and buy aura-cleansing crystals on eBay. “What unifies modern esotericism is rejection or marginalization by established religious authorities,” says Egil Asprem, an associate professor specializing in Western esotericism at Stockholm University. “They come together through shared otherness.”
Pichler learned about esotericism five years ago, when two friends became fascinated with spiritual healing and channeling energies of ancient beings. They eventually lost their life savings on workshops and various products. The experience prompted Pichler to document the world they became so engrossed with. “The project was out of this feeling of helplessness and anger,” he says. “It’s sad and absurd, but we lost them to irrationality and quackery.”
He began investigating esoteric communities in 2014. Over the next two years, he spent $1500 on mystical items including a Lycra anti-radiation cap, a Feng Shui "car spacer," and spiritual oil to ward off police. Pichler photographed himself performing esoteric ceremonies, such as an earth-healing ritual to "stop the war in Syria." He also took photos meant to depict otherworldly creatures. For the image of a glowing angel on a hilltop, he posed in a sweatshirt covered in reflective tape and smeared the camera lens with hemorrhoid cream. Later, Pichler posted the photo online, receiving dozens of comments and likes. “I wanted to make them with the stupidest props possible,” he says. “It was evidence for me that people really believe in this stuff.”
The shiny, colorful images perfectly capture the gleaming artifice of esotericism. After all his research, Pichler understands why people look to the heavens for answers. “Spirituality and belief are part of being a human,” he says. “My main criticism is if you exploit it in a financial way.” For those seeking the supernatural, a dose of faith is just a click away.
