Testimony, n.

1. a formal written or spoken statement, especially one given in a court of law.

2. evidence or proof provided by the existence or appearance of something.
3. a public recounting of a religious conversion or experience.
4. (archaic) a solemn protest or declaration.

​

In Evangelical culture it is common practice to share your testimony: to publicly describe your conversion to Christianity as an example and inspiration for others. The testimony I share in this body of work is more of a reckoning with Christianity and a celebration of breaking free.

 

As a child, all I knew was the reality presented by those in power over me. When I was told my spirit was sinful, my flesh manipulative and deserving of shame, I did what I needed to survive, concealing my self under a mask of obedience and compliance. Through ritualized physical punishment I was taught to dissociate from my wicked body.

 

It took me half my life to realize that the deep pain and angst I felt was not a result of my inherent wrongness. It was a physical embodiment of the dissonance caused by trying to conform to a worldview that was antithetical to what I knew in my soul was right. In the years since then I have been teaching myself to trust my heart— learning to navigate good and evil not with fixed labels but with instinct and observation.

 

This exhibit is a personal narrative that begins in a sheltered, authoritarian childhood and evolves toward a more fluid, curious worldview.  Each representational painting is a testimony to past trauma; each abstract painting an opportunity to process and find a way forward. The sculpture reconciles the past with the present: a fragmented self finding healing through empathy and compassion.