Our Lady of Seven Sorrows

The Virgin Mary has a long tradition of visual archetypes that are as diverse as the cultures she has adopted. She has changed over time to fit the demands of womanhood and femininity, across cultural divisions and interactions, and through changes in the role of faith, all while remaining a crucial figure to the Abrahamic religions (especially Catholicism).

In this series, I sought to express a more dimensional representation of the Virgin through physically complicating the image. I produced a series of seven interchangeable prints (representative of the seven sorrows of the Virgin) that varied in material and translucency. I chose to depict Mary in the “Our Lady of Seven Sorrows” cannon as it showed a deep emotion that grounded the Virgin in the human world.

1. Pencil, tracing paper

2. Velum, ink

3. Watercolor

4. Packing tape, velum

5. Adhesive (transfer), acrylic

6. Scanned image, velum, acrylic

7. Packing tape (transfer) ink, watercolor, gold leaf