Collette Nolan
Ireland
Retablos are traditional Mexican votive offerings. They are paintings made usually on tin. These paintings were made by people to give thanks to God, the saints or the Virgin for some favour or request. They illustrate and describe moments in the everyday lives of ordinary people, but also combine the reality of life with the spiritual, visualising prayers of devotion, thanksgiving, hope, despair, sickness and healing.
I am interested in responding to individual prayers that are directed towards a certain saint in order to find a lost object or for a successful surgical operation, improved function of sight, hearing, etc. Using recycled tin boxes and tins with interesting shapes and markings, I paint images relating to the particular prayer with acrylic paints and mixed media.
(Text: heroes + holies catalogue, 2002)
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