“My convent school
memories of a god constantly disappointed by my humanness, a
tortured christ and a surprised virgin mother with post partum
depression, haunt me to this day. Religion is such a volatile
and personal subject, one I was taught never to discuss at the
dinner table, but no one ever said I could not turn it into
art.
Over the years my gods
and goddesses have changed in stride with the icons of popular
cultural. What I venerate today is quite different from saintly
remains, relics, held sacred in the past.
Many different religions
revere relics; devotional pendants or cases which contain bits
of bone or cloth reputedly from a departed saint. Relics were
believed to have healing and magical powers, produce miracles
and provided a spiritual link between man and god, a treasure
for the faithful. Set on an altar, carried in processions, or
worn around the neck as a talisman to comfort, and protect the
bearer from harm, these relics, often extraordinary works of
art in themselves, made an indelible impression on the faithful.
In this new exhibition,
I explore the relic beyond the saintly remains. I offer up my
own interpretation using the possessions of ordinary men and
women. Their prayer books, photos, letters and hat feathers
have survived the passage of time; they’ve already lived
longer than I have. I wonder what the people who owned them
were like, how they were used and what magic they may now hold.
Their stories are intertwined with mine. They comfort me, protect
me from harm. They link me with their afterlife. I am a devote'
of their remains and faithful to their treasures.
As always my work involves
making connections between reality and surrealism, preservation
and decay. I take these seemingly, uninteresting belongings
and transform them into intimate love tokens with a Fornasetti
twist. I invite you to hear these people’s stories with
your eyes and hope that you will enjoy this journey through
my view of relics & offering.”
