My work creates a fictional religion by borrowing from Christian aesthetics and art forms to establish a false history. This religion worships and fears the power of the climate. The volatility of nature can be like a tyrannical god and can be as humbling as religion. Inspired by the fear of god, these storms are worshipped because of their power and unpredictability since before modern science.
I used contrasting imagery of the natural and industrial world, putting them at odds with each other. Typical triptych altarpieces often depict the Nativity, the Virgin Mary, the Crucifixion, or saints. Mine instead depicts the industrial, the suburban and the rural, and seeks to capture the sublime in the modern world.
My work engages with new and old understandings of storms. I juxtaposed modern scenery with delicate lacework, symbolising the weaving of mythologies and storytelling over time through techniques originating from medieval times and The High Enlightenment. The labour-intensive process of lacemaking calls to worship as a labour of love. I borrowed mythical figures such as the harpy and the winds as symbols for power over the elements. These icons represent something we have never had control over, but have adapted to by developing technology to forecast, read, understand and harness it to generate our own power. Even now we are subject to the whims of nature and often find ourselves victims to our climate, which is now more than ever our own fault.
