Hannah Hill is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. Her medium of choice is oil, acrylic, and watercolor painting, graphite and charcoal drawing, and printmaking. With a high concentration on portraiture and the figure, she spent a year in Florence, Italy attending The Florence Academy of Art and gaining a certification of completion in graphic arts. Her current body of work, The Iconostatis of the Descruction on Purity Culture, focuses on the effects of purity culture on women. She uses her artwork to start conversations about topics that are deemed taboo by society.
Project Statement
This series, “The Iconostasis of the Deconstruction of Purity Culture,” is a series of paintings expressing the pressures placed on children, specifically young girls, by the ideologies preached by religious organizations and authority. This series focuses on Christianity, both Evangelicalism and Catholicism, and the harm caused by teaching purity culture to prepubescent girl. Purity culture places extreme pressure on girls by teaching them that their bodies are inherently sexual and that it is the girls’ responsibility alone to stay pure for God, her father, and her future husband. This creates an unsafe environment for girls to speak out against abuse in fear of being seen as dirty goods. It teaches little girls that their bodies are viewed as sexual objects. Through my use of metaphors and symbolism in this series, I aim to expose the toxic environment this type of teaching creates. Most of these girls promise to remain pure to the fathers publicly before ever understanding what sex is or being taught sex education. This leads to many issues regarding mental health, relationships, and sexual health in the future.
“With confidence in His power to strengthen me, I make a promise this day, to God, to you [the father], to myself, and to my future husband, and my future children to remain abstinent until the day I give myself as a wedding gift to my husband.”
- The Abstinence Clearinghouse Purity Ball Pledge
Artist Statement
I began painting before I could walk; my father is a painter, and I was always given free range with art supplies in the garage, my father’s studio. I kept many sketchbooks throughout school, drawing characters from my favorite shows and movies. Though I was deeply engaged with art, I never considered it a serious pursuit; my first love was acting, and I spent much of my time on stage. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school that I began to shift my focus, and I traded the spotlight for a paintbrush. What I enjoy the most about creating a series of works is trying to convey an answer to different questions I ask myself. Each series allows me to explore different themes and concepts, pushing me to think deeply about the human experience. My first series focused on mental illness and how to convey the feelings and struggles involved. My second series explored the theme of censorship in fairy tales, painting scenes from the original, unfiltered Grimm’s stories. Currently, I am working on a concept I’ve been contemplating for the past three years, “The Iconostasis of the Deconstruction of Purity Culture.” This body of work represents the culmination of everything I love about painting. By integrating both figurative work and portraiture in a traditional style, I have found a way to express my artistic vision that feels both true to myself and deeply fulfilling. Creating a series in this way—using the formal structure of traditional painting while exploring modern concepts—has been an exciting journey, and I look forward to continuing to push my artistic boundaries.
Symbolism
The Iconostasis of the Deconstruction of Purity Culture
An Iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings found in Eastern Christian Churches that separates the sanctuary from the rest of the body of the church. This is important because I wish to convey through my series of paintings that many churches fall short in teaching the Bible’s original message, thereby further separating us from God—just as the iconostasis separates the clergy from the congregation.
Purity culture is a belief system that emphasizes, particularly for girls, abstinence outside of marriage and ties their self-worth to sexual purity. This teaching, rooted in shame and fear, does not stem from God.
“Only God Can Provide True Forgiveness”
This painting depicts an older woman turning away from a young woman who is covering herself in shame in response to losing her virginity, whether consensual or not. The loss of virginity is further reinforced by the still life in the corner: The basket and small trinket box represent a woman’s womb, the eggplant alludes to male genitalia, oysters are known to be an aphrodisiac and alludes to female genitalia, the red rope is a nod to the story of Rahab from the Book of Joshua, the grapes are a representation of God’s forgiveness, and the lock and key is a symbol often used when teaching purity.
The older woman is puppeteered by a priest, symbolizing how purity ideals were often taught to young girls not directly by men, but by pastor’s wives as Sunday school teachers. These women reinforced the belief that it is a girl’s responsibility to prevent men from sinning. Above them, Jesus, who died for everyone’s sins, looks on in sorrow.
“See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil”
This series of portraits is inspired by depictions of the Madonna and based on the metaphor “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Originally, this metaphor encouraged people to protect themselves from evil influences and actions. However, in another sense, it can also represent willful ignorance—choosing not to see, hear, or speak against wrongdoing.
In this series of portraits, young girls are prematurely mutilated under the guise of protection. Purity ideals are taught before, or in place of, sex education so that girls can “protect” their purity. Yet, how can one protect themselves from something they do not understand? Ignorance is not protection.
