Perpetual Blessing
Paper cast mold from the collected scratch-off backings forming Virgen de la Dulce Espera (Virgin of Sweet Waiting)
This piece came to represent the perpetual hope of lottery players – that the next ticket might hold a big win, as well as the belief that everyone deserves a second chance. When playing a scratch-off, there is anticipation and excitement for a better future to be revealed, most often replaced with the disappointment of a losing ticket. I sought to symbolize this act of dreams vanishing along with the losses through the gradual erosion of the sculpture. However, Mary had other plans. The tickets adorning the Virgin Mother contained valuable fine-print text, often skipped over beyond the odds of winning and rules of play. She stood, composed of the second-chance play opportunities many Texas scratch-offs possess, whereby scanning a losing ticket with a downloadable phone application, the player is given another chance to be redeemed. And if one becomes troubled by gambling, visible is a phone number, to whom someone can confess, and thereby seek salvation. Each drop of water became tears of perpetual blessing – slowly reactivating the glue within the paper. Mary hardened with the fall of each tear, and after 48 hours (or 172,800 blessings), was nearly indestructible. I realized this piece came to represent the perpetual hope of lottery players – that the next ticket might hold a big win, as well as the belief that everyone deserves a second chance.