Through an exploration of Catholic iconography, this body of work seeks to reconcile religious and childhood trauma and empower the person I have become. By using art historical narratives, and ultimately conflating them with queer cultural references, I further expand on the cult of self-narrative that perpetuates in my work at large. I gravitate towards combinations of two opposing ideologies in my work.  This work navigates the conflict between my experience with spirituality and sexuality.

Drawing references to the Epistle of Barnabas, a first century Greek apocryphal text, I have constructed a space meant to be intimate and reflective while coaxing a purveyor into rethinking how they view spirituality in the scope of queerness. The slaughter and implied consumption of the hare, hyena, and weasel paired with nude self portraits convey stoicism and nonchalant-ness. This person didn’t just kill these animals and eat them, they sought them out and took them down with confidence and pride. They are owning their sexual and gender deviancies – unashamed of putting it all out on display for the audience to see. Accompanying the window-like panels are objects that widely walk the line of distaste.These works aim take what is hidden away in the name or purity and elevate them to relic status.