Proposal

“Under the new policy, a claim of a violation of religious freedom would be enough to override many anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, women and others.”  cnbc.com

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I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was sawing a “Made in China” 15” plastic Jesus so that I could sandwich it’s parts in-between plexiglass. Still, I felt something. Was it guilt, fear, empathy for a figure I was taught to look up to? Or, was it my own gay cynicism towards religious thinking? Maybe it was all of it, including the excitement of constructing a vision I had on my way to work. 

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OVERVIEW

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“Ingroup” will showcase a series of multi-faceted installations displaying Portuguese religious figurines. They will be used outside of their usual context and reconfigured with uncommon materials. The main goal of the project is to explore the conflicting realities that society has helped to create - and to build a body of work that parallels religious ideologies with contextual freedoms. The intended result is to present work that highlights the irony in religious symbolism, and to question values and intent in an open-ended way.

 

One main installation will be constructed with baby Jesus figures. This installation will be complemented with other similar works. These works will utilize resource building, engineering and digital and 3D sculptural fabrication. Each piece will be presented as it’s own narrative. I intend to explore patron saints like Our Lady of Fatima, the beauty of artisanal figurines, and the relevance of the Portuguese American experience. 

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