Genesis

Statement:

Losing faith was like accidentally slipping between worlds; shifting dimensions into a universe where the rules of my reality became a liability.

My father started a non-denominational church when I was nine years old. We were hardline evangelicals: politically conservative biblical literalists, backed by a community of disciples, ranging from our accountant, to my ballet teacher. Everyone around me was devoted to my father; he was their primary spiritual authority. And I worshiped him, too.

Exiting this cult community—and eventually Christianity altogether—was surreal and exquisitely painful. I grappled with the breadth of my own brainwashing, and like so many others who have themselves left high-control religious groups, I needed to entirely reeducate myself.

I had been taught that no “real” love, compassion, or selflessness could exist outside of the spiritual walls built around me by my father and our family’s ethics. However, when I began to explore my own identity and convictions apart from religious extremism, I discovered an authentic liberation in surrendering the bigoted theological & social beliefs that had been reinforced by my family.

Genesis, as you probably know, is a book of origins. In my representation, it is an examination of the nexus between belief and revelation; community and estrangement. It is the space between the myths we hold as sacred and their inevitable collapse.

Why Genesis is relevant for our time:

In 1990, ninety one percent of Americans identified as Christian. Since that time, a third of those congregants have left the church, and with the exodus of so many believers, the influence of extremist Christians has only grown.

Consequently, we've seen the rise of political figures like Donald Trump as well as the stripping of human rights in favor of religious ideals.

My belief in Christianity was sincere and deep. As a person who left the Church, I am convinced that this alarming trend will only continue to grow if left unchecked. It is my aim to increase the awareness of and begin a conversation about cult behavior and Christian extremism.

How the PhMuseum 2023 Photography Grant will be used:

These works will be printed on a monumental scale with the largest image (Forbidden Tree) being about eight feet. So much of my inspiration comes from high church art, thus it's important to create a sense of gravity and importance through scale.

They will be mounted to wood panel and encausticed to accentuate the ethereal and surreal quality of the works. A grant from PhMuseum will help provide the necessary supplies such as panels, encaustic medium, brushes, and prints in order to produce such an ambitious project.