100 True Stories: Please and Thank yous

One of three Exhibitions organized in conjunction with Chicano Symposium at Whatcom Museum, 100 True Stories presents a a loosely knit group of individually well-known women artists from Seattle who have occasionally exhibited together over the past decade. The project took inspiration from Mexican folk art miracle paintings known as Retablos and Exvotos. Retablos are visual prayers, traditionally commissioned at times of great need or stress, and are usually acquired for devotional purposes as well as esthetic appreciation. Ex-votos are objects of gratitude, commemorating blessing or serving as visual testimony of miracles. Both forms usually present images of patron saints or other Christian holy figures that are felt to be relevant to the need in question. In the exhibition, the religious iconography of the miracle paintings is replaced by a more directly personal, but equally heart felt expression.