Grace Saint is an avant-garde, contemporary Christian who navigates art as a vessel for both faith deconstruction and reconstruction as a non-binary and non-denominational artist. Hermetically inspired, they occupy the ambiguous ‘non’ space as a sacred act, tapping into a growing cultural movement of people who are questioning institutional religion but still seeking spiritual meaning. Having been approached by a vicar who suggested a calling to ministry, they questioned possibility of the traditional routes. Grace Saint the human-rat hybrid evolved into the leader of a Queer Christian RAT ART Ministry, often accompanied by The Monk Homunculus and a selection of rats scurrying behind.

 

Saint’s practice reimagines religious iconography and ritual, creating inclusive theatrical experiences for contemplation and healing which often culminates in immersive performative installations which result in physical objects and artworks known as 'Relics' of the performances. Their disciplines span performance, photograms (or Rat-o-grams), frottage and experimental video, exploring archetypal and symbolic narratives within Christian traditions in constructed alternative sacred spaces.

​

Saint’s relationship with the domesticated rat is a central aspect of their work. On a mostly unconscious level Saint has worked alongside and with their pet rats to reflect on the major underlying themes of the work including mistreatment, misunderstanding and the dense concept of The Mother, grief and mourning. Saint has had the pleasure of caring for fourteen rats in the past four years, three of which have also happened to be transgender. The works created with The Rats are collaborations and revelations, collaborations that are as inherent to the practice as the divine interventions at the hands of God.

 

Traumatised, absurd, eccentric, Grace Saint seeks to both demonstrate and question how seemingly controversial and irrational ideas and elements can fluidly coexist for the benefit of anyone that has felt ostracised by The Church, for the faithful Christian-ish collectors.

​

​​​​

Grace Saint's practice includes performance, sculptural installation, painting, photography, experimental video, and curatorial projects. Their work frequently explores the archetypal and symbolic accounts of ritual in Judeo-Christian religion with a particular interest in ways these echo with traditional cultures and spiritual practices throughout the world. Stylistically their work is influenced by and draws on the powerful iconography of their Catholic upbringing that include heightened sensibility in the use of light and use of iconography associated with the Catholic faith.  The artists intention is to use their art to contribute to on-going critique of what constitutes an archetypal, transformative, religious experience within dominant Western religion.

- Kathleen Rogers

 

Grace’s curiosity is extremely endearing. While the core themes of their work have a consistency, each iteration of their ideas are developed through research and continuous questioning. We want to congratulate Grace’s honesty with grappling with the difficult area of contemporary religion and divinity. 

- The Margate School

 

Grace is a multi skilled artist, curator and writer, who consistently organises and facilitates arts events while also developing their own practice. Religion, iconography and spirituality is the thematic undercurrent to the artworks which manifest as anything from paintings and sculptures to performances and installations. Grace's works are considered, asking the viewer to reflect on themselves in the context of religious or spiritual structures that may surround us. Drawing on art history as well as contemporary works, their knowledge and eye for curation is broad, which is proven in their delivery of several successful curatorial projects.

- Ellen Ball