In Catholicism, it is customary to give prayer cards for different occasions. Generally, they depict a saint on the front and a prayer on the back for a specific situation or trial in life. Each saint embodies a certain virtue, and the idea is not to worship the saint, but to ask for their guidance. They date back to the 1400s when they were made as woodblock prints and then gained popularity with advances in modern printing. Throughout my childhood, I received many of these cards. While I stopped attending church in my teens, the Roman Catholic iconography of my early upbringing in South America left an imprint on my psyche. However, I never felt a connection to the saints that lived long ago so I began exploring the idea of creating my own saints that I could relate to.

The project started with a list I made of icons who initially helped me assimilate into American culture and then expanded into a broader idea about identity and what shapes us on a personal and cultural level. I have always felt out of place except for with the outsiders, so for the most part, this collection celebrates individuality and those who have pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable and “normal”. Icons who have challenged the status quo in some way.

Pop culture is often dismissed as shallow and those who connect with it are presumed to lack depth, but I believe it is the mythology of our time. In The Power of Myth interviews with Bill Moyers, Joseph Campbell said of religion, “… it has not turned over and assimilated the qualities of our culture and the new things that are possible. The new vision of the universe must be kept alive and the only people who can keep it alive are artists. The artist, his function is the mythologization of the environment and the world.”

Additionally, pop culture is important because it reflects current social issues and provides a window into diversity. For some, it can be the only avenue to access a broader world view. Pop culture binds us, teaches us and mirrors back to us our personal and cultural shadow as well as our potential to be heroes. With this in mind, I intentionally challenged myself to find flawed saints, rather than idealized religious or civil rights figures. They are meant to capture moments of my individuation journey in an irreverent and humorous way that reflects my personality.