THE MARK

97" x 54" x 32"

"Confidence tricks" exploit typical human characteristics such as greed, dishonesty, vanity, opportunism, lust, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility, desperation, and naïvety.

"The Mark" is heavy, uncomfortable imagery, and a powerful response to those political and religious leaders, as well as individuals who use such tricks to trivialize the Christian Faith to divide, marginalize, and damage people. They have succeeded in turning the true message of Christ into a 'circus' or 'carnival game' where they target those that are easily mislead. The goal is to achieve quick cash, status, and personal gain, while joyously, intentionally, and violently beating the hell (and the love) out of Jesus. And unfortunately, they have mastered the ability to encourage others to do so as well.

The chalk handprints on the wooden mallet are a reminder of when dishonest carnival game operators called "grifters" found someone who they could entice to keep playing their "rigged" or "gaffed" game, they would then "mark" the player by patting their back with a hand that had chalk on it. Other game operators would then look for these chalk marks and entice the individual to also play their rigged game. This is the same thing that's going on with society today. Good people are being dangerously misled by these political and religious grifters, full of self serving arrogance, picking and choosing biblical passages that are not read in full context to inflict or direct harm on others for no other reason than financial gain, or to make themselves seem, and feel, superior over others. The powerful words of Christ are now lost, forgotten, and buried under the stench of pride.