Ex Voto
Ex Voto: Ego, Deus, et Medicus
MG Bernard
On view in the Davis Gallery December 11, 2025 – January 18, 2026
The exhibition stems from Bernard’s interest in the medieval Church’s affiliation with health care, including pilgrimage, prayer, & the miraculous healing power of reliquaries. Catholic tradition glorifies Jesus’ & Mary’s suffering but illustrates sick & disabled people as inferior, sinful, & in need of healing. What happens when we shift the sacred gaze from historically idealized, sanitized figures such as the Virgin Mary & Christ to a chronically ill, queer, perverse bodymind? By repurposing used medical equipment specific to cystic fibrosis as contemporary sacred objects, Bernard subverts the traditional narrative that disabled & sick bodies need cleansing & curing. Instead, her artwork venerates the sick and disabled as new versions of divine saints who are prayed to.
Mary Grace Bernard (MG, she/they/ugh) is a transdisciplinary artist, educator, advocate, & crip witch. Her practice is situated at the intersection of performance art, transmedia installation art, art scholarship & writing, curation, & activism. Their intersectional artworks turn art visitors into active, empathetic spectators of her painful & time-consuming care routines. Bernard’s work pulls from various historical contexts to reimagine traditional narratives for a more equitable future.
They hold a BA from the University of New Orleans, & two MAs—one from New York University & the other from the University of Denver. In 2017, she launched the contemporary art organization Femme Salée (F&S) which is dedicated to starting, sharing, & making accessible difficult conversations frequently absent from the art world. Ugh is currently a staff art writer for DARIA Magazine, a collections assistant for the University of Denver Art Collections, & a board member of Tilt West.