And Deliver Us
“Queer Candle Magic” (2022), 24 second stop motion film made from an hour and a half video of a candle melting on my head.
“Palo Santo, take me away!!” (2022). Video shot in collaboration with Shayna Strype.
“Just an eye mask and a warm bath” (2022). Stop motion documentation of activating my evil eye mask to cope with life stressors.
A collection in progress, these pieces are loosely united under the phrase “and deliver us” – a sentence fragment that, of course, harkens back to the lord’s prayer but also speaks to the very human desire to escape from evil. One of my primary interests is how people cope with loss, stress, and oppressive environments. In the years following the 2016 election and throughout the covid-19 pandemic, I began to see the rise of a hyper-capitalist spirituality –even amongst people who were nonbelievers – and a hopeful yearning that buying and using spiritual objects and tools (i.e., evil eyes, incense, crystals) could shield them from harm or deliver them from evil. Will it?