A collection of altars that I compulsively make everywhere I go.
I was raised Catholic, and a lot of the origin stories I am familiar with contain catholic imagery, however, I am not a practicing catholic nor identify as one, but the stories I was told during childhood remain. A large part of my mind’s work is occupied with figuring out who or what these are for in a way. I believe in something greater than myself, but it is not something I can put into words easily. The best I can come up with is creative energy and I think by making these I feel closer to it. The artist Ana Mendieta described it beautifully-
“My art is grounded in the belief of one universal energy which runs through everything from insect to man, from spectre to plant, from plant to galaxy. My works are the irrigation veins of this universal fluid.”
Altars are traditional offerings for a god-like entity, ancestors, or nature. Altars can also be in remembrance. I think I am remembering something, and it’s a process that may always be in motion. Or perhaps I’m offering a pathway for an idea. Whatever the reason, I enjoy making them and it is a part of my studio practice since I can remember.
