Ahem, Amen, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, pencil chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
My work harnesses the tropes, iconography and rituals of Catholicism to explore and expose the self, and to embrace queer identity. Religious and queer subcultural rituals have become a key part of my research; in particular, the gestures, materials and objects associated with different communities and their according rituals. The way we build specific relationships to materials and symbolically attach them to our beliefs is evident within various groups throughout history. Much of my work is a protest against the unquestioned systems of power in society. In this way, I hijack the cultural practices and imagery of Catholicism towards decidedly more radical and self-empowering aims. Instead of being diminished or shamed by Catholic doctrine and practice, which tends towards the obliteration of self and desire, I exploit the church’s practices and imagery within my work to paradoxically reclaim my identity as a lesbian and to gain a sense of belonging within the queer community. I am also interested in the appropriation of language and materials to give new agency to a group or individual that has been harmed by them. These acts of resistance are the direct result of systems of oppression that serve to uphold the status quo.
The Priesthood, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
Tethered, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, pencil chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
In Flagrante Delicto, 2021, oil paint, acrylic, gouache, posca on wood panel triptych, 180 x 250 cm
Portrait of Virgin Xtravaganzah, 2020, oil on canvas, LED strip light, shrine cloth, plastic flowers, plastic candles, 260 x 150 x 50 cm
Revelations (Part 1), 2019, words from a King James bible on 1804 bible cover, 30 x 57 cm – detail shot
Revelations (Part 2), 2019, words from a King James bible on 1804 bible cover, 30 x 57 cm – detail shot
Revelations II (Out of The Ashes), 2019, bible fragments and ashes on wood panel, 38 x 41 cm
Ahem, Amen, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, pencil chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
My work harnesses the tropes, iconography and rituals of Catholicism to explore and expose the self, and to embrace queer identity. Religious and queer subcultural rituals have become a key part of my research; in particular, the gestures, materials and objects associated with different communities and their according rituals. The way we build specific relationships to materials and symbolically attach them to our beliefs is evident within various groups throughout history. Much of my work is a protest against the unquestioned systems of power in society. In this way, I hijack the cultural practices and imagery of Catholicism towards decidedly more radical and self-empowering aims. Instead of being diminished or shamed by Catholic doctrine and practice, which tends towards the obliteration of self and desire, I exploit the church’s practices and imagery within my work to paradoxically reclaim my identity as a lesbian and to gain a sense of belonging within the queer community. I am also interested in the appropriation of language and materials to give new agency to a group or individual that has been harmed by them. These acts of resistance are the direct result of systems of oppression that serve to uphold the status quo.
The Priesthood, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
Tethered, 2020, acrylic, gouache, spray paint, highlighter, ink, pencil chalk on canvas, 170 x 280 cm
In Flagrante Delicto, 2021, oil paint, acrylic, gouache, posca on wood panel triptych, 180 x 250 cm
Portrait of Virgin Xtravaganzah, 2020, oil on canvas, LED strip light, shrine cloth, plastic flowers, plastic candles, 260 x 150 x 50 cm
Revelations (Part 1), 2019, words from a King James bible on 1804 bible cover, 30 x 57 cm – detail shot
Revelations (Part 2), 2019, words from a King James bible on 1804 bible cover, 30 x 57 cm – detail shot
Revelations II (Out of The Ashes), 2019, bible fragments and ashes on wood panel, 38 x 41 cm