Michael Fulks
What are the Secrets of the Third Marian Revelation?
These images are all digital paintings completed in Corel Painter. They depict portraits of women against backgrounds of the symbols and artwork of Abraham religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Baha'i) Each women represents the controversies, conflicts and gender status (or lack thereof) within these religions. They are different depictions of how the fear and hatred of women held by the powerful within each of these religions manifest themselves within the narratives of their traditions as well as contemporary religious practices and beliefs.
“The Secret of the Third Marian Revelation” refers to “Three Secrets of Fátima” consisting of a series of apocalyptic visions and prophecies which some people believe were given by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young Portuguese shepherds in 1917. Why has there been so much controversy about these three secrets and what relevance do they play in today's world where Pope Francis now leads the Roman Catholic Church. Why has the third secret been suppressed for so long? Does it portend the destruction of the Church as we know it and the End of Times? Or does it call into questions the origins of the Catholic Church as a patriarchal institution not in line with the teaching of Jesus.
"Prayer for Peace”, with its words in Hebrew hidden in the background, represents a hope for the future.
“Wildcard” depicts a dancer of ambiguous sex. How will the evolution of our attitudes about the meaning of gender and relationships affect the beliefs and practices of the Church? Will the Church of today adapt and embrace these changes or fade into irrelevance?
How have women become “Pawns” of the religious fanatics and what role do they play in past and present religious conflicts and the struggle of these religions to maintain their misogyny and patriarchal structure? Will they remain simply pawns?
“The Skinwalker” portrays one of the ways powerful and gifted women were stripped of their powers and reduced to symbols of evil. Even in this country, such women were condemned as witches when they threatened the patriarchal paradigm of society. The skinwalker, shape shifter and succubus were supernatural creatures possessing skills often reserved for males and thus were reduced to seducers and destroyers.
In“Holy Warrior” (The Magdalena Army), the woman holding weapons of war is placed among other objects of violence against a background of holy places. She symbolically represents the messianic return of Mary Magdalen holding the Church accountable for the murder and massacres of innocents who followed a different interpretation of Christianity as codified by a patriarchal Church. She rises to bring the Church back into the Light and calls upon it to atone for the sins of the past. And she demands the return of Mary Magdalen to her rightful place as the First Apostle.