Oh Mary

This past summer I visited the Isabella Gardner museum. Upon walking into this hall, I was struck by the statue of Mary at the end. The light made her the focus of the hall. I felt that the statue felt sad in some way, alone in the hallway. It reminded me of the connection between religion and emotion–so often sorrow when it comes to Catholicism, and I tried to depict that in this piece.
Before I started painting, I carved portions of my composition with a rotary tool upon the wood panel. Through this process, it brought me to a meditative state - bringing me back to the memory of this space and the emotions I felt.

Tell me Mary,
Did you know your womb was a grave?
That the religion would demand more lives than you gave
Tell me Mary
Did you know that your praise would be sung more by sinners than by saints
Not those who wished to be redeemed
But those who burned others at the stakes
Tell me Mary
Did you know your name would be on the lips of dictators and prayers alike
Oppression and Hope tangled into something as complicated as this life
Tell me Mary,
In that barn bathed in blood
Were you ready for it to grow and drown
Every scrape of his skin
Tell me Mary,
Did you know your womb
was not only a tomb
But a cemetery