HYMNAL, Senior Capstone '20-'21
Hymnal is a story of identity, trauma, and becoming told through the eyes of an unnamed protagonist and the monsters they encounter. The exhibit is comprised of mixed media clay sculptures that include objects ranging from LEDs, to wings made of golden feathers, to a charm given to me by a person who was once very dear to me. Each of these sculptures are meant to encapsulate a feeling or experience that has helped shape me into the person that I am today. Their concepts largely focus on abstract feelings, so I aimed to convey emotion through a mix of form, color, and expression.
Pop culture, specifically anything involving monsters, has impacted my worldview since early childhood. Ever since I was a small child, monsters have been my constant companions. Some of my earliest memories involve playing in the woods with my favorite imaginary friend, El Chupacabra, or “Chupie”, as I called him. To me, monsters are, as my favorite director Guillermo del Toro would say, “patron saints of our blissful imperfections”. Through the trauma I have endured at the hands of organized religion, monsters have helped me find healing, acceptance, and kinship. Without my monsters, I truly don’t know where I’d be. Within this show, I use monsters to reflect on and discuss my experience of growing up as a closeted queer person in religious education. Through my monsters, I explore the experiences that helped shape me into the person I am today.
Hymnal is my love letter to monsters and it is my story of overcoming religious trauma and learning to embrace my identity fully and unabashedly. It is a celebration of who I am- the good, the bad, and the broken pieces.
Pop culture, specifically anything involving monsters, has impacted my worldview since early childhood. Ever since I was a small child, monsters have been my constant companions. Some of my earliest memories involve playing in the woods with my favorite imaginary friend, El Chupacabra, or “Chupie”, as I called him. To me, monsters are, as my favorite director Guillermo del Toro would say, “patron saints of our blissful imperfections”. Through the trauma I have endured at the hands of organized religion, monsters have helped me find healing, acceptance, and kinship. Without my monsters, I truly don’t know where I’d be. Within this show, I use monsters to reflect on and discuss my experience of growing up as a closeted queer person in religious education. Through my monsters, I explore the experiences that helped shape me into the person I am today.
Hymnal is my love letter to monsters and it is my story of overcoming religious trauma and learning to embrace my identity fully and unabashedly. It is a celebration of who I am- the good, the bad, and the broken pieces.