viincarnate
A series of seven paintings which reinterpret the Seven Heavenly Virtues of Catholic tradition as embodied liberation practices.
viincarnate was my thesis project for my BFA in Illustration at Emily Carr University of Art + Design.
the intention
My initial attraction to the topic of the Seven Heavenly Virtues of Catholic tradition was based in their potential as a framework through which i could examine ways of living that support what Enrique Dussel refers to as a “praxis of liberation”. In Beyond Philosophy, Dussel defines “sin” as a system or action which results in oppression of the other. In this perspective, then “virtue” is by nature the actions which counteract them—the act of resisting oppression.
While the Seven Heavenly Virtues evolved within the context of the Catholic Church, they have often been individualized and removed from social contexts. By distancing them from their traditionally religious interpretations and contextualizing them within contemporary socio-political specificities, I aim to disrupt institutional understandings of virtue which have been used to uphold the very colonial and heteropatriarchal systems of control that a praxis of liberation seeks to dismantle. This project explores the anti-oppression potential of the Seven Virtues within the context of modern-day British Columbia and seeks to honor everyday displays of virtue in a way that neither idolizes the individual nor renders them invisible, but sees each person and their actions as an impactful part of a larger system of action.
the process
I wanted each painting to be rich in texture, composed as a “scenes”, and cohesive within a series. I also wanted them to be emotionally evocative in how they communicate the context and theme of each virtue.
To start, the boards were prepped with collages of newspaper clippings from B.C. newspapers, which set the background for each “scene”. On top of this, I layered translucent oils in thin washes to build up color while still allowing some of the newsprint to show through. In the initial brainstorming stages of my project, I considered making a series of digital illustrations. While this may have been more efficient, I decided it would lose the tangible nature and depth of oils, as well as the strength of the newsprint as a ground. I chose to work with newspaper clippings as a collage and dilute my colors to allow the text to show through in several areas.
The newspaper was important for me conceptually, since it acts as both a literal textural and contextual background to my compositions. While news is almost always biased and not always reliable, since it is typically an offshoot of the ideological hegemony of the society in which it originates, it is still the means of dissemination for most of our information about the world. I wanted this to reflect in my paintings, and through it to use text in my images without necessarily being too didactic.
In each composition, I worked primarily through metaphor, referencing animal symbolism, literature, mythology, or tarot cards, while still grounding many of the scenarios in reality. This resulted in surreal images that portray specific contexts while also speaking to a deeper meaning.