Pope Joan is believed by many to be a female Pope who reigned for a few years in the 9th Century. The story was accepted by many for centuries. Pope Joan was a brilliant religious scholar who disguised her biological identity in order to gain an education. She rose through the church and was selected as pope. During a papal procession in the streets of Rome, the female pope’s gender was exposed, forcing her secret that she was a woman and also pregnant to be revealed.

I am intrigued by the notion of a female Pope, her identity, perceived power, and sexual prowess resulting in a baby, public shaming, and death at human hands. Like many other women whose stories I focus on, Pope Joan is an exalted yet conflicted figure, an emblem of women throughout history for whom the existing power structure has marginalized. In my work, I am interested in female heroes whose strength of vision enables them to ignore the almost overpowering messages of their historical periods. In the Pope Joan series, I consider the relationships between history, memory, lies, and rumor to explore the first female pope while waiting for the next. Some images explored in the work include maps, sella stercoraria, papal vestments, mitres, and papal shoes through sculpture and painting.