Acrylic on paper, mounted on gold leafed MDF, 42” X 64", 2014.
In this Genesis 1:9 series I used verses from the book of Genesis in the Bible describing the separation of land and water bodies. The “dry ground appearing” theme from the Biblical text are manifested using everyday construction materials. The structure is shaped from Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) and the surface texture, made of paper colored by thin layers of acrylic paint, is reminiscent of pools of water often found on construction sites where the earth has been moved and shaped. The orange glow emanating from the backside of the artwork is a vibrant construction-grade spray paint used to designate structural boundaries.
Genesis #53, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 80” X 76", 2016.
Genesis #56, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 90” X 37", 2017.
Genesis #58, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 39” X 36", 2018.
Genesis #40, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 55" x 86", 2016.
Genesis #18, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 33” X 46”, 2013.
Genesis #43, acrylic on paper, mounted on MDF, 276"x 132", 2014.
Acrylic on paper, mounted on 1/4” insulation foam over wire sub-structure, 98" x 120”, 2019.
“Nobody chooses the humiliation forced by external accountability. But once you accept it as a gift and make the change you really need to make, you become a witness to the world. Isn't that what the church is called to be? As an institution, we can bring healing and salvation to the world. For alcoholics, the most important work is to another alcoholic, right? The church as an abusive institution could be a transformative agent against abusive behavior in society.” -Father Luke Hansen
In setting up this installation, I wanted viewers to have a ritual-like experience, as it was for me while making the piece. The space was quiet, dark, and intimate, with a single light illuminating the vessels. The faint audio sound of a 16th century reenactment of a Catholic Latin Mass could be heard by onlookers. The column that the chalice and paten sat on were painted a special matte black that absorbed 99.9% of all light around it. The projected video is a loop of me writing the 6,846 names of the accused Catholic clergy onto the chalice and paten over a 28-hour period.
This video series speaks to the ritual of baptism in the Christian tradition and metaphors that speak to this rite of passage, antitype journeys through death, namely drowning, pneumonia, covid-19, and ventilators. My goal is to better understand the human condition of suffering and the many forms this takes as it relates to life and death.
The title Pneuma was intentionally selected as an ancient Greek word for "breath", often used in a religious context for ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’. “It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is also used in Greek translations of ruach רוח in the Hebrew Bible, and in the Greek New Testament” (Wiki). As scientists gained a better understanding of COVID-19 and patients were put on ventilators, descriptions from survivors of the experience linked it to suffocating or drowning. Forced, labored breath was a common description heard from victims of the virus posted on YouTube educating viewers on this novel virus.
The audio transitions between an up tempo singing of the Alleluia (Exsultate, Jubilate by Mozart) by soprano Aksel Rykkvin (13 years old) and a June, 2020 protest rally in Denver, Colorado for the murder of George Floyd, with the crowd chanting: “I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe...” The Alleluia piece is reminiscent of the historical practice of castrato singers. “In 1599, Pope Clement VIII gave the approval for castrated young boys to sing in the Church. This went on for the next 280 years or so until Pope Leo in 1878 finally stopped it” (Catholic Bridge). The George Floyd protest chant, “I can’t breathe,” overlaps the Alleluia soundtrack. The audio was intended to create tension, despite the repetition and ritual of the events taking place. This disruption is reminiscent of the encroaching corruption upon sacred rituals intended to be to set apart and holy.
Greek for 'bound by the law'. This sculpture addresses one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, namely last rights. It speaks to the Protestant Reformation (works under the law vs grace) it also connects to the current COVID-19 lockdown and those isolated in nursing homes, hospitals and hospice care.
The piece is fabricated using a cast iron antique bed, freighter anchor chains and a resin cast of a figure using the traditional sculpture method of wet drapery, creating a hollow shell of where the body used to reside, but not longer.
