Saint on the ‘1’ Train

Sue hansen

Encaustic collage

12 x 12 inches

Made possible by a grant from the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts

As thoughts of scheduling moved out, feelings of charity for my neighbors moved in…

This work, entitled “Saint on the 1 Train,” was created from one of the many faces that I collected while living in New York City. To me, the beauty and variety of fellow passengers on the subway was a museum of faces. I’m glad I followed my impulse to capture them as they have become the raw material for this project –-a project that is helping me to navigate my emotions during the pandemic. 

Social distancing has removed me from my over-scheduled life. As thoughts of scheduling moved out, feelings of charity for my neighbors moved in. The heartache of separation has caused me to reflect on the value of each person with whom I share this moment in history. The virus has caused me to focus more on our commonalities than our differences. We are bound together by our mortality. We are bound together by our helplessness. We are bound together by our divine origin. I feel a desire to celebrate being bound together. 

In this piece, I portray a woman who is both my sister and a stranger. She is a reminder of the larger family, Zion, of which I am a part. I imagine Zion as a state free from contention and social class, where no one is spiritually or physically poor, where differences don’t separate us. Like me, this woman on the train is imperfect, complicated, and worthy because she is present. And so, I have made her a saint, a person who is sacred and worthy of my reverence, adorned with a nimbus. 

The nimbus reflects my first religious culture, Catholicism. The concept of Zion reflects my adopted religious culture as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In this work I combine these two concepts: the visual markings of sainthood and the creation of Zion. I want to find a place in my work where I can integrate all of the cultural influences that have a home in my personal history while making room for the individual histories of those around me. 

Sue Hansen

received a BFA from Brigham Young University and an MA (emphasis on studio painting) from the University of Wisconsin, Superior. She’s worked as an illustrator, scenic painter, and studio artist throughout my life. Currently, she splits her time between studio work and teaching high school art in Utah.