Portfolio
My current paintings and sculptures are heavily influenced by my thirty-two years of living the Mormon faith. A seventh-generation Mormon, I was raised in a homogenous and conservative suburb of Salt Lake City where Mormon women are kept in place with the shame, anxiety, self-sacrifice, hyperfemininity, and perfectionism that the patriarchal system breeds within them. The cultural practices and symbols of my upbringing are seemingly idiosyncratic, but speak to a larger societal conversation about lingering protected systems of abuse and point to the decline of religiosity among rising American generations.
Click on images to enlarge.
I DID EAT (Health in the Navel)
Oil on paper mache and panel
29x38 inches
This nine-paneled oil painting boasts a 3D sculpted paper mache snake. The snake was cut into thirteen parts, mounted to each panel, and painted consistently with the panels for a somewhat camouflage appearance. The overarching image depicts an abdomen transposed with leaves in earthy terracotta and turquoise–a contemplation on the Mother of All Living, Eve, and her decision to partake of the fruit, disobey God, and open her eyes to the truth. The snake becomes a symbol of transformation in this retelling.
My Teenage Bedroom
Interactive Webpage
Dimensions Variable
This interactive webpage is based on my actual teenage bedroom. Each object is clickable and takes you to a separate page with more information and media. The webpage serves simultaneously as a learning tool and an archive, as Mormon leaders continuously erase unsavory aspects of the Church’s past and along with it, the experience and histories of real people.
Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant
Oil on panel framed with salt
11x14 inches
This oil painting framed in salt from the Great Salt Lake reflects on the unadulterated faith, sacrifice, and loyalty that I gave to the Mormon church for 32 years. I looked forward to the day when God would say to me “Well Done, Thou Good and Faithful Servant” and I’d enter into His rest. I knelt at God’s feet, barefoot in a caustic salty desert, prepared to give him every ounce of my life. And He remained silent.
Me ‘n’ Joe, 2023
Graphite, watercolor, and ink on Yupo paper
mounted on panel with salt
5x7 inches
This graphite portrait on paper references the only known photograph of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, which happens to be a less attractive and more rough and tumble depiction than the many Church-published illustrations. The smaller watercolor and ink portrait on paper in the left bottom corner is of myself at age 14–the age of at least two girls he married. A thick layer of salt frames the panel on which the portraits are mounted.
Lot’s Wife, 2023
Oil, acrylic, and salt on panel
24x18 inches
This oil painting depicts a woman’s shoulder and turned neck with actual salt climbing up her arm and burning her skin. In the Old Testament, God commanded Lot, his wife, and daughters to leave Sodom before He destroyed it, warning them not to look back. But Lot’s wife looked back and “became a pillar of salt.” Her brief story is often cited as a cautionary tale in favor of blind obedience based on the widely taught assumption that she was wicked and longed to sin. But, like all women, her character and story are likely more nuanced and deserve to be considered as such.
Take My Yoke Upon You, 2022
Oil on panel and paper mache
7x15 inches
The carefully painted imagery of a woman’s chest extends from a small wooden panel framed by a paper mache chain and medallion to intimately emphasize the subtle, yet total restraint the Mormon woman experiences in her culture. The chains of her oppressor have become a part of her, impossible to distinguish from her own body, and physically and permanently alter her physical experience.
Rose-colored Caul, 2022
Spray paint on paper mache
6x2x13 inches
This paper mache necklace is an oversized and handmade version of the mass-produced Young Womanhood Recognition medallion that Mormon girls earn after six years of accomplishments and obedience, not unlike a femme version of the Boy Scouts. The medallions are a signal of a young woman’s purity, obedience, and righteousness dangling from her neck. The dusty pink of this spray-painted medallion reflects the color often used in the Church’s marketing to and about teenage girls.
MISSING, 2022
Oil on paper mache
9.75x4x4 inches
I created a paper mache milk carton and painted it with a missing listing when my painting "Nourish" was stolen from my solo show "Of(f) the Body" at Dougherty Arts Center in Austin, TX in 2022. I based the fictional branding of the carton on a cautionary story from Mormon history in which a prominent church leader was said to have abandoned Mormonism over disputed milk strippings. The actual historical details of this story differ from those taught in Mormon Sunday School.
The Light That is in Their Eyes, 2022
Oil on panel
24x18 inches
Copies of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Christus statue were adopted by Mormonism to inhabit visitor centers around the globe and have become a familiar symbol within the faith. In 2021, the Salt Lake Temple Square visitor center was torn down and the statue was placed in storage. A quote from a prominent church leader promotes the idea that Mormons have a special light in their eyes, so I painted that vanished Christus copy taking up residence behind the eyes of true believers, leaving room for no one else.
Against the Skin (in Bondage), 2022
Oil on panel
24x18 inches
This oil painting depicts the typical Mormon woman's back, complete with holy undergarments that are to be worn against the skin at all times and underneath the bra, even while pregnant or breastfeeding and in extreme heat. The garment is, simply put, a constant reminder that one's body is not their own.
There’s a Right Way to Live and Be Happy, 2022
Acrylic on paper mache
5x5x4 inches
CTR rings are one of the first emblems given to Mormon children to wear on their bodies. CTR stands for “Choose the Right” and is an oft repeated phrase similar to “What Would Jesus Do?” The exaggerated size of the piece leans into the darker side of having a constant reminder on your person to choose "right". While its visible nature indicates the wearer's righteousness, its presence becomes a burden and dredges up guilt in the inevitable instance a “sin” is committed.
I Know Not, Save the Lord Commanded Me, 2022
Spray paint and oil on panel
24x18 inches
This spray paint and oil painting addresses the Mormon concept of "Choosing the Right" or “CTR.” Dogma pervades within Mormonism and there is always considered to be a “right and wrong to every question.” This emphasis on black and white perfectionism leads to a judgmental and self-loathing culture, emphasized by the excessive rings and strained flesh of the grasping fingers in this painting.
Costly Apparel, 2022
Watercolor, spray paint, and oil on paper mounted on panel
16x12 inches
This mixed media painting series drives at the heart of my experience as a female raised in the heart of Mormon culture. My body was not my own–it was a tool, an object, a vessel, a temptation, something to be acted upon. As much as I tried to live my life, mind my own business, and believe in myself as a child of God, I was constantly reminded of my limitations, maternal and wifely responsibilities, and that I was not in control. The anxiety I still feel when a man reaches out to shake my hand (a patriarchal custom at Mormon gatherings) or places his hands on my head (the practice of giving a person a blessing from God) may never subside.
Nourish and Strengthen, 2023
Spray paint and oil on panel
7x5 inches each
When juxtaposed, these intimate self-portraits depict the Mormon pastime of eating green Jell-O (and the sweet tooth Mormons are known for) and drinking holy sacramental water that represents the blood of Christ. Due to the health code, Mormons do not drink alcohol (not even wine for the sacrament), coffee, or tea, smoke, or use recreational drugs of any kind, but they are known to indulge in sugary foods like soda pop and cookies.
Wanton Eyes, 2022
Oil and spray paint on panel
36x48 inches
This portrait of a young version of my mother with medallions covering her eyes reflects on the submission and self-sacrifice of women in Mormonism. The shiny metal presses into her cheeks and becomes one with her flesh as her gentle smirk reflects compliance. The medallions represent the award that young Mormon girls earn by completing tasks heavily based in homemaking and purity culture with an eye single to becoming a wife and mother. The shiny temple-adorned ovals dangle from delicate chains reminiscent of a crown of thorns.