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Between Grace
and Defiance
Collages About Divinity and Outsiders
Between Grace and Defiance presents a series of 22 handmade collages that reflect on the Virgin Mary as a timeless symbol of strength, compassion, and spiritual depth. Alongside these reimagined portraits are figures drawn from contemporary life—individuals shown in moments of reflection, vulnerability, or quiet self-possession. These scenes invite the viewer to consider how sacred imagery continues to echo in personal experiences today.
Each pairing or trio of collages in this exhibition brings together a vision of Mary with a portrait of a modern figure, creating visual dialogues across time. The contrasts are not confrontational but contemplative—exploring how reverence and individuality can exist side by side. These works suggest that beauty, dignity, and introspection are not bound by historical or cultural limits.
Can joy in one’s appearance
be as sacred as devotion?
selfhood, like holiness,
is built through quiet, interior labor
identity is explored in solitude, with no audience but the soul
Each work resists fixed definitions,
instead celebrating complexity and grace.
relational intimacy, rooted in love,
recognition, and spiritual continuity
gender and form are not rigid
but full of meaning, mystery, and change
a journey, from idealized exterior
to interior longing,
and finally, spiritual release
identity is shaped, questioned,
and revised through time
Adornment and ceremony become
mirrors of longing, hope,
and personal meaning.
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