My name is Sophie Morris. I’ve been painting in Meanjin since 2020. I am extremely emotional and anxious and I don’t quite know where I would be without painting. It has saved me in more ways than I can comprehend. Every canvas is an impulsive and passionate splatter of my heart. I don’t plan, I just paint. I reach deep within myself to produce what you see, haunted by the desire for authenticity.
Jesus Loving Atheist is a term I heard first in an exchanging of poetry with my uncle. It was used to describe the iconically dry and satirical poet, Kurt Vonnegut. A man who said delicious things like “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” and “Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why.”
The way I see it: Jesus was a socialist and ‘loving thy neighbour’ seems like a nice way to live life, without all the kerfuffle of organised religion. But hey! Believe what you believe! I really couldn’t give a fuck! Now I’m going to add more Vonnegut quotes down there because I like what the guy had to say.
“A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it,
is to love whoever is around to be loved.”
“If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possible can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”