EXHIBITION STATEMENT
CAFETERIA CATHOLIC

A Cafeteria Catholic is an individual who selects which faith or moral teachings best suit their lifestyle at a given time…

I don’t always believe in God, I forever question my faith. Questioning my faith creates feelings of guilt. Rather than leaving religion altogether, I pick and choose Catholic teachings that interest me and suit my lifestyle. Because of my strict Catholic upbringing, accepting my thoughts and being myself is a constant battle. In my youth I was taught to suppress my ideas, not to draw attention to myself, not to date boys and never told about “the birds and the bees.”

Within this body of work, I simulate the memory of my mother hiding my artwork with bath towels.  When confronted, she explained that she did not want to see the drawings because they scared her. My mother avoids things she fears and always taught me to do the same. The white fabric in this installation is symbolic of purity, and acts as a veil to hide shameful thoughts from the judgment of others. Hand-drawn images imply the struggle between good and evil. It is an attempt to leave the suppression of living in a conservative Catholic family and expose imperfection and impure thoughts.


Exhibitions:

Cafeteria Catholic, Resonator, Norman, OK 2018
Cafeteria Catholic, Guadalupe Cultural Art Center, San Antonio, TX 2016