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Silent Prayers is a diptych that explores the tension between superstition, fate, and hope, forces that often coexist quietly within the human experience. Rooted in my Polish heritage, this piece reflects the weight of cultural beliefs passed down through generations. In Polish folklore, seeing a nun is considered a bad omen, a superstition that traces back to World War II when nuns were often associated with death and grief. To avoid misfortune, it’s said you must quickly tap someone else on the shoulder to pass the bad luck away.
In contrast, the stork carries a very different meaning. In Poland, the return of storks each spring is a cherished sign of hope, birth, and renewal. Their nests are welcomed as blessings, their presence believed to bring good fortune to the home. By placing the nun and the stork side by side, I wanted to show how life and death, fear and hope, often share the same spiritual space. Both figures, despite their symbolic differences, are tied to the sacred, to ideas of destiny and the unseen forces that shape our lives.
Silent Prayers also serves as a quiet tribute to the women I’ve known who have carried the emotional weight of miscarriage or infertility in silence. While the imagery may seem whimsical at first, the piece holds a deeper emotional gravity. Through the use of oil paint, modeling paste, and gold leaf, I sought to create a visual language that honors both fragility and resilience,a sacred space where superstition and sorrow meet renewal and strength.
Silent Prayers is a diptych that explores the tension between superstition, fate, and hope, forces that often coexist quietly within the human experience. Rooted in my Polish heritage, this piece reflects the weight of cultural beliefs passed down through generations. In Polish folklore, seeing a nun is considered a bad omen, a superstition that traces back to World War II when nuns were often associated with death and grief. To avoid misfortune, it’s said you must quickly tap someone else on the shoulder to pass the bad luck away.
In contrast, the stork carries a very different meaning. In Poland, the return of storks each spring is a cherished sign of hope, birth, and renewal. Their nests are welcomed as blessings, their presence believed to bring good fortune to the home. By placing the nun and the stork side by side, I wanted to show how life and death, fear and hope, often share the same spiritual space. Both figures, despite their symbolic differences, are tied to the sacred, to ideas of destiny and the unseen forces that shape our lives.
Silent Prayers also serves as a quiet tribute to the women I’ve known who have carried the emotional weight of miscarriage or infertility in silence. While the imagery may seem whimsical at first, the piece holds a deeper emotional gravity. Through the use of oil paint, modeling paste, and gold leaf, I sought to create a visual language that honors both fragility and resilience,a sacred space where superstition and sorrow meet renewal and strength.