About the Artist
Hello, my name is Harrison and my art is an expression of my journey through religious deconstruction.
I was born and raised in religious suburbia, attending several churches in my youth and spending many summers at vacation bible school. It wasn’t until my late teen years that I began to question the ideology I had been steeped in for so long.
After much introspection about my personal beliefs, I left the church at sixteen and embarked on a deconstruction journey. I started my journey by exploring different religions; something that was off-limits while I was a part of the church. While beginning this journey, I quickly realized that it was going take a lot of hard work to unlearn the mindset that I had been trained to believe for so many years.
At eighteen I began attending art school, where, apart from learning the skills I use today in my artwork, I was challenged mentally. Attending art school opened my mind to different levels of self-expression that I never knew were possible as self-expression was frowned upon where I came from. In art school, unapologetic creativity was everywhere you looked, and I embraced it fully.
Through that embrace, my artwork became experimental and graphic with heavy influences from pop-art and traditional tattoo culture. As my studies in art school continued, my personal art style progressed and began to blossom. I slowly started becoming my own person, abandoning the character the church had made me into and the freedom and euphoria in that development was nothing short of life changing.
I made the decision to leave art school in 2017 to pursue art outside of a university setting. In the years that followed I continued to learn more about myself and my art through the context of my religious deconstruction.
In the winter of 2021, I wanted to make a change. I didn’t want my art to be just a hobby, I wanted to make something more of my passion. I could feel the drive inside of me and knew that if I put my mind to it, it would be possible.
I wanted to start my own business creating artwork rooted in the experience of religious deconstruction.
Through my artwork, I aim to not only continue to heal my own past religious trauma, but also uplift and support those who have experienced that same pain. My artwork is for anyone who has been hurt by the church and to let them know that they are not alone. You are seen. You are strong. And you are beyond valid for leaving the church.
