2011 • 48″ x 18″
acrylic, spray paint, fabric on panel
Here I explore the notion of spending this one life, denying your very nature and hating the very biology the very biology that makes us human. It highlights the approach St. Francis took to earthly pleasures:
St. Francis called the body ‘brother ass’. He kept this brother ass under perfect discipline and control. Sometimes he kept this brother ass without food and water and denied it some special food that it liked very much.
So why should one festoon their “brother ass” in a hairshirt?
A cilice was originally a garment or undergarment made of coarse cloth or animal hair (a hairshirt) worn close to the skin. It was used in some religious traditions to induce discomfort or pain as a sign of repentance and atonement.
The sole purpose of this self deprivation and torture was to fight one’s true humanity…that as any other organism with natural and purposeful instincts. I can only see it as unhealthy and sadly ridiculous for people to willingly participate into such misery.
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