360° panoramic imaging is the science, art, and practice of creating interactive and navigable immersive 360° screen-based images, which usually depict a place or event. The Sacred Spaces of New England project is my ongoing effort to document religious and spiritual gathering spaces—both historical and contemporary—within the New England region, using 360° panoramic imaging. Drawing from both my research and artistic practice, this book introduces the Sacred Spaces of New England project, places it in an art historical context, and presents twenty-four selected stereographic images with links to their web-based immersive image counterparts on the Sacred Spaces of New England website.

Printed on archival paper, the first edition of this hardcover artist book is limited to 400 copies. An electronic version (pdf) of this book is also available. Proceeds from book sales will go towards supporting the Sacred Spaces of New England project.

"For his artistic work, which is presented in this book, Seth Thompson digitally redrew his 360° panoramic photographs of sacred spaces. Using stereographic projection, he creates highly aesthetic images that combine geometry and perspective. Seth Thompson’s stereographic projections, which are rooted in the Western tradition of panoramic art, interweave pictorial space and geometric patterns in a new way, thus connecting Western and Islamic art traditions. In this way, they also enable a new kind of visual experience of the sacred spaces to which they refer."

Gabriele Koller
Curator, Jerusalem Panorama Foundation, Altötting, Germany
Vice President, International Panorama Council, Lucerne, Switzerland