I have a friend that I’ve known for many years who, by all accounts, should know me. We reunited in my studio space a year ago and, upon seeing this piece, I could feel her body tense up. She asked me in a very serious tone, “Katie, are you worshiping Satan?”
I laughed because she must have been joking.
However, I realized quickly that she was not.
She was afraid. I had forgotten what it was like to have that tangible fear of a boogeyman.
Satan was a very real concept to me in the first part of my life, but as I began to shed Mormonism from my system, I was able to shed “Satan” from my mind. I was able to discover that there is no evil monster coercing me to sin.
It’s just me here and my human brain.
The religiously programmed voices fell away, and now, for me, there is no longer a Satan.
Concepts like these are supposed to be powerful and “sacred,” so I continue to free myself from these previously untouchable concepts by putting them into my art and touching them all over.
Because of this friend, I decided to name the piece “Satan.”
Katie Morton is a multidisciplinary Canadian artist who has exhibited in Canada and the United States. She uses humour with a mix of grotesque and feminine to explore both anecdotal and larger concepts.
www.katiemorton.me
Rug Paintings in order featured:
Satan (detail), Birdhouse, What Doesn’t Kill Me, Satan, Gum Ratio.