Bridal Reliquary

2025

Porcelain, wood, fabric, mixed media

A Bridal Reliquary draws upon the visual language of reliquaries, confessionals, and devotional objects to examine how marriage, religion, and tradition shape women’s identities through cultural expectation and social ritual. At the center of the installation hangs a porcelain bridal nightgown molded from the female form. Though the body is absent, its imprint remains, transforming an intimate garment into a sacred artifact.

A reliquary containing a severed finger adorned with a wedding band references the preserved body parts of saints historically housed in sacred shrines. Throughout the installation, porcelain handkerchiefs reference the overturning of Roe v. Wade and biblical passages concerning marital authority, while porcelain pages bear quotations from Audre Lorde and Madeleine Albright that affirm the necessity of women’s voices. Nearby, an open porcelain sketchbook and journal preserve personal drawings and writings, introducing an autobiographical dimension to the work.

By combining devotional architecture, domestic objects, and personal artifacts, A Bridal Reliquary explores the tension between prescribed roles and individual identity. The installation questions what aspects of womanhood are celebrated, controlled, preserved, or erased, and what remains when a woman is transformed into an ideal.