Art As A Bridge
Artist: Laura Jennings Estevez
Now Showing in The Gallery at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Spartanburg, SC. Exhibit continues through June 2025.
The Artist’s Journey
My interest in culture has grown over the last 20 years as I have discovered how deep and how wide our cultures can go. Many times, we do not even realize that we have cultural norms until we step outside of them and explore and appreciate the lives of others. In cross-cultural ministry (when someone goes outside of their culture to help others, for example in the Peace corps, missions, military, etc.) there can be so much that is learned and shared from these experiences. I moved outside my country at 22 to begin an art program in an underprivileged neighborhood and I have been connected to the country of Ecuador ever since.
Many times, we do not even realize that we have cultural norms until we step outside of them and explore and appreciate the lives of others.
I have come to see the bridges that are formed through our family ministry in Ecuador which now includes my husband from Ecuador, our kids, and our larger ministry of Second Chances Ecuador. From teaching a person to paint to painting portraits of young men that have lived on the streets there is something that visual art can do that reaches the soul.
The portrait has always fascinated me. There are worlds inside of each person and there is so much that is unknown. This installation consists of a round table with a portrait at each space. In one space there is a mirror which includes you and everyone that looks into it as a part of this connection.
The exhibit will be displayed in both Quito, Ecuador and Spartanburg, SC. Large, abstract representations or “soul” portraits of each person are hung on the walls around the gallery to represent the light, personality, and my understanding of who each person is.
The best part of ministry is being able to connect worlds. Through this artwork I want to bring the idea of coming to the table together to share an experience. Just as Christ brought individuals from vastly diverse backgrounds to the table, the individuals represented here also have diverse backgrounds. Through a shared dialogue, each person has been given agency, responding to survey questions, and producing their own self portraits that capture their authentic selves. From this information I have created personalized works of art representing each person.
This exhibition features a small fraction of portraits of the many individuals from the US and Ecuador who have been involved in our ministry. The eight portraits only scratch the surface of the years of involvement between Spartanburg and Quito. These paintings, my interpretations, bridge the individuals' inner selves with my own experiences of them. Each person is connected to our ministry in some way and each person has immense value and incredible stories to share.
Just as Christ brought individuals from vastly diverse backgrounds to the table, the individuals represented here also have diverse backgrounds.