Inari

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Sounds perfect Wahhhh, I don’t wanna

This is a selection of selfportraits from a series I made in 2011-2016. They’re made with colour pencils on paper. In them I placed myself into various existing paintings and artworks. The series progresses from a fully finished drawing to the least finished drawing. The title of each work in the series is a female name (in lower case) and a body part. The body part in the title is always obscured in the image or not in the frame at all. Out of the fifteen portaits five are full body format, five are half figure and five are shoulders and up. Several of the works have very Mormon themes, and those are the ones I wanted to lift up here.

You can see the whole series on https://inariporkka.tumblr.com/portraits at the bottom of the page. That might not work on Tumblr app, might need to look at it on a browser.

Drawing of a blonde female figure dressed in a white robe. A knotted rope hangs from her waist. She is holding a while lamb in her arms. Her gaze is fixed upwards, as if enraptured, but her expression seems a little concerned. the background is sooty black and filled with abstract scribbles.ALT

agnes (arms)

The name comes from the Latin term Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God. The painting inspiration is Zurbaran, specifically his Agnus Dei and his Saint Francis. The arms of the figure are obscured by the lamb she carries. It is ambiguous whether she is sacrificing the lamb or rescuing it. There is a possible indication of female priestesshood going on here. The background is a reference to an abstract artist whose name escapes me. I can’t remember what I was going for there with the chalk on blackboard look - unfinished plans, maybe?

A sketchy pastel-esque drawing of The First Vision. Young Joseph Smith is laying on his back on the foreground, in awe of the vision in front of him: two sketchy figures - God and Jesus - dressed in white and surrounded by white light stand over him, talking to him. Beyond the light you can make out some trees of the forest. In the bottom right corner a female figure with short brown hair is dressed in white, kneeling behind a wooden wall pr box.ALT

josephine (knees)

The name comes from Joseph Smith of course, and the main reference painting is of course that famous one of the First Vision. The other reference is this Renaissance trend of making religious paintings and inserting the donor of the painting into the scene. Like there are paintings of like Bible scenes like the crucifixion or Mary holding Baby Jesus and then some Renaissance guy in there too with them. So I put myself into the First Vision, like  a donor. The figure is reading while kneeling behind a little… prayer box thingy that was in the original painting too, with the knees obscured. The idea there is that by reading other people’s accounts of their experiences (such as Joseph Smith’s First Vision) is like being there.

Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus, drawn with heavy outlines. Seen from the waist up, she is wearing a white top and a white veil that covers her hair. The baby is holding an apple. The background is yellow and orange and both figures have a golden ring as a halo. The whole paper is framed with a drawing that is like stained glass.ALT

maria (shoulder)

The name is obviously a reference to Virgin Mary and the painting reference is to like early Renaissance/late Middle Ages iconography. Shoulders are hidden from view on one side by the veil and on the other by the baby leaning on the shoulder.

An old woman dressed all in white is sitting on a stool. A fuzzy black and grey dog is laying on the blue floor in front, looking at her. The light grey wall is bare except for a framed document, another frame that disappears off the right edge of the image and a white curtain hanging on the left.ALT

anna (loins)

I must admit I can’t remember what the name is in reference to. But the painting is Whistler’s Mother. I’ve drawn myself in place of the old lady in the original, my late dog is on the floor, and on the wall is my temple sealing diploma. On the left there is a white cloth - a curtain or the veil? The vibe is temple-y: either waiting to pass through the veil or having done it.

A very feint outline drawing of a nide female figure holding a cluster of flowers to her face, smelling them. The background is lushly rendered jungle with green leaves of various kinds, pink, blue and purple flowers, oranges growing in a tree and several animals: elephant, snake, female lion, and a bird.ALT

eva (nose)

The name refers to Eve. The nudity and the lush jungle all around (borrowed from Rousseau) suggest it’s pre-Fall. Nose is hidden from view by the flower she sniffs. Since Mormons have a pretty different view of Eve compared to other Christians, it’s kind of focused on just who she was, rather than eating of the fruit or any of those central story beats.

A left-facing profile portait of a female figure drawn from the shoulders up. Her long blonde hair cover her neck. She is wearing a white shirt or blouse, and on her head is a golden crown with diamonds and pearls. The background is bare unbleached paper.ALT

sara (neck)

The name refers to Sarah, the wife of Abraham. This is the most unfinished drawing in the series. To me it’s about exaltation (hence the crown) and not being reasy for it yet. This one is also the first one in the entire series, so it follows the system the least - for example it’s not as such a remix of a particular painting, just inspired by Botticelli in general, like the hair, really.

@personshapedsplder @lingering-sunrise

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Get your event or classroom some queer Jewish content

If you are ever arranging something that needs a speaker and queer Jewish themes in media, theatre, circus, etc would be a good fit, I highly recommend Stav Meishar.

And if you are ever arranging anything in a theatre or circus-like space, book one of her shows, The Escape Act is incredible.

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