Olivia Johnston | Saints and Madonnas

In her series Saints and Madonnas, Olivia Johnston engages with photographic portraiture and found objects to explore ideas of holiness in contemporary life.

Seeking to represent “the divinity within us all,” her portraits – often depicting members of the Ottawa art community – are suffused with sacred iconography used throughout Western art history. Enclosed in frames that were designed, created and hand-gilded by the artist, the images exist outside the space of the everyday. Here, they are presented alongside shrines made from the artist’s collection of trinkets and medical ephemera, referencing the material culture of Catholicism and considering the connections between trauma – both emotional and physical – and sanctity.

Together, Johnston’s work captures the essence of the individual while inviting us to reflect on how sacredness might exist in our increasingly secular world.

Recipient of the 2024 Project X Photography award, Olivia Johnston is a queer and chronically ill artist and art historian whose practice explores questions about images, gender, the body, self, beauty, illness, art history, and what it means to be human. She works across mediums including photography, found object installation, and new media sculpture to explore social issues, practices of representation, and the boundaries and biases within belief systems.

Curator: Meghan Ho
Translation and editing: Marie-Camille Lalande, Rebecca Basciano, Véronique Couillard
Design: Sophie Nakashima
Installation: Dan Austin, Rob Keefe, Stephanie Germano

The Project X Award recognizes the merits of a publicly presented photographic project by an artist who demonstrates an ongoing connection to Ottawa. The award recipient is selected by a jury of arts, photography, and media experts and is presented by SPAO, the Ottawa Art Gallery, and the Ottawa Arts Council, with supporting sponsor Centre de production DAÏMÔN.

The artist acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Ottawa.

Image: Olivia Johnston, Saint Marisa (detail), 2021/2024, pigment ink print on cotton rag paper, plexiglas, custom-made frame and hand-applied imitation gold leaf, 47 x 31 x 3 cm, courtesy of the artist.