TYPOGRAPHY
DIAPHANOUS, Experimental Typography, Rosary beads, fishing line, 50" x 30"
Diaphanous: light, delicate, translucent. This piece is a study in experimental typography where 200 rosaries make up letterforms that appear to be lighter than air. A commentary on religion and religious beliefs, DIAPHANOUS represents a meditative state with the repetition and overlapping of rosary beads. With the Roman Catholic church presenting itself as a power house of faith, rooted in foundations and history, DIAPHANOUS is an introspective into my current experience with the church. While reaching out for help due to my family’s choice to distance themselves from me for being gay, the conversation with the priest was plagued with superficiality and contradictions. It became very clear to me that my faith is grounded but that religious leaders can portray the church as something so delicate and sheer that it could topple over if pressed on topics that challenge its systemic beliefs.
THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, Digital Typography, Video
This font is my response to the older Portuguese population in Southeastern, MA. As times change and evolve, there is a reluctance to approach change, even if it’s for the better. For the most part, their answer to things including homosexuality and gun violence is to pray it away. The black rectangles are symbolic of a bird’s eye view of Santo Christo Church in Fall River, MA. Every summer there is a procession that starts and ends at the church where an iconic statue of Jesus is carried around the neighborhood over a carpet made of flower petals. Each letterform is determined by different paths the procession could potentially take around the church’s neighboring streets.
