A Spell for Love is a magical evocation for loving ourselves that explores the synergies between artwork and spellwork.

 

The installation centers around a handmade puppet, the witch who also appears in the video A Sea Change, and features a large-scale digital photograph of myself as the puppet. The work took inspiration from my process creating the puppet — I became enamored with the witch and realizing that this character was within me allowed me to access a deeper sense of love for myself. 

 

The photograph references symbolism and archetypes in the Tarot, particularly imagery from the High Priestess and Empress cards in the 1909 Rider Waite Colman Smith deck. Combining symbolism from across these consecutive Major Arcana cards, the photograph suggests a melding of their meanings of deep inner wisdom and inner knowing (High Priestess) and of abundance and nurturance (Empress).    

 

The installation also includes a series of small cards for audiences to take away, each printed with a different short text offered by friends and family that speak to the ways in which they try to love themselves.