[ART] Crosses of Contrition

2022-11-13	2022-12-31

2023-01-10	2023-04-11

Image Descriptions

START ID. A collection of drawings of the same three crosses. All drawings were made by Contrition, a four-year-old programmed member of Cathedral. Contrition draws crosses as punishment—as penance. She usually draws her crosses on our body with razors—or markers, if we can get her to engage in harm reduction. When we were hospitalized, Contrition was forced to draw her crosses in pen, marker, pencil, or chalk. After she draws her crosses, she prays the Act of Contrition to complete her penance.

• The first image is a journal entry written in red marker. It starts with the following:

overwhelmed by him
(contrition)
afraid…nauseous…tired

• The second image is a drawing of how Contrition feels all the time. A faceless, naked Black child with short black hair is drawn in the center of the page. The child is covered in scribbles and X’s, made using black marker, red marker, and pen. The word “BAD” is written in big, blocky letters above the child’s head. At the bottom of the page is a drawing of the three crosses at Calvary.

• The third image is a drawing of the three crosses at Calvary, made in pen. The cross in the center is drawn using thick, black bands to distinguish it as Jesus’s cross.

• The fourth image is a journal entry written in pencil. It starts with the following:

giving up
wasting away
rotting
submitting
[please let me be your good girl]

END ID.