Carrie Sapa

Carrie Sapa
Saints & Resurrection

The past, present and future are all shown in this current show.  This artwork looks over interactions with others, introspection, observations, and searching through my own questions about my faith as a Christian. The work overlooks several mediums and applications; however, it always comes back to these overarching themes…

              My “Land of Saints” show of 2018 reflected a Mission trip to El Triunfo, Honduras. The time spent there is what changed my path in life and inspired this line of work. My time at UND led to a deep fascination with art, art history, and steered me to study about religious art, theology of iconography, symbolism, saints, and then finally internalizing it and creating my own art pieces. The artwork of an icon or a saint is not just a painting, but a religious text, devotion, and prayer. The icon is transformed from being painted from the hands of an artist to the hands of God, thus blurring the idea of who the artist is. Exploring these ideas led me in my own art practices, becoming a deep time of devotion, contemplation, and prayer. This art reflects the time between God, me, and the people I met in Honduras.  Questions during prayer arose such as, “How is it we are saints and sinners at the same time? What connections do I have to the world around me and to the stories of the Bible that I grew up with in a contemporary time setting?” I pondered additional questions such as “Is each person that I encounter a possible saint? Is the mother who tried to give her child away more like the Virgin Mary than I ever thought possible?” This art period reflects those thoughts, prayers, reflection, and continued connection between all of them.  

“Saints and Resurrection '' is a new body of work combined with my old series that holds a deep time of inner reflection about my past, present, and future. I am digging deep into my faith, asking hard questions, and realizing that we all live through a certain infinite cycle.  This sequence we continuously live in, leads us as humans to fall, grieve, forgive, empathize, reconcile, resurrect, transcend, and finally peace. These cycles can start and end in a year, month, week, or even a day.  But just as the process ends, it starts all over again in an infinite manner. Hopefully, we find the courage to take the next step.