Art Against Prejudice: Byzantium & Margarita and the All Saints Ball

Across the world, movements claiming to defend “tradition” often use it as a weapon to divide, suppress, and judge. In the United States, dystopian tendencies are rolling back progress in women’s rights, LGBTQ+ freedoms, and pluralism.

My paintings, Byzantium & Margarita and the All Saints Ball project, are my personal response to these narratives — a small but heartfelt contribution to the struggle against prejudice and control.

Byzantium & Margarita – Facing Authority

In Byzantium & Margarita, I explore the conflict between an individual woman and the authority of religious hierarchy.

She stands covered, except for her courageous face, holding an open golden cage. Behind her, men of the cloth turn towards a glittering altar — blind to her presence. The cage is open: freedom is possible, but fragile.

This painting was created during the 2021 lockdown, yet its message feels painfully relevant today — where old systems of power still dictate who can belong and who must remain outside.

The All Saints Ball – A Vision of Equality

The All Saints Ball project was inspired by Hozier’s Take Me to Church. The song confronts homophobia and religious hypocrisy — themes I expanded to depict ordinary faces, people who might be judged or excluded by rigid systems of belief.

In my vision, they are all saints. Not because of church approval, but because of their humanity. Their dignity is not granted by institutions, but inherent.

This work is a symbolic act of resistance to exclusion, a reminder that heaven — or dignity, or freedom — does not belong to any single tradition, hierarchy, or ideology.

Tradition or Control? A Global Question

In the U.S. and beyond, movements dressed in the language of “faith” and “family values” increasingly push for laws that restrict freedom: from banning books and censoring teachers, to limiting women’s reproductive rights, to rolling back LGBTQ+ protections (Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International).

These dystopian tendencies do not preserve tradition; they weaponize it. They divide communities, create scapegoats, and replace empathy with control.

History shows us where such paths can lead — yet art can offer another vision. A vision of equality, compassion, and resistance.

Art as a Voice Against Prejudice

Through painting, I try to hold space for those silenced by judgment. Whether it is a woman confronting authority in Byzantium & Margarita or the diverse, ordinary saints in All Saints Ball, my work is an invitation to see humanity without barriers.

Art cannot change the world on its own, but it can remind us of truths that institutions sometimes forget: that freedom and dignity are not privileges, but birthrights.

Conclusion

In an era of division and renewed intolerance, each creative act can become resistance. My contribution is modest, but deeply personal: to paint against prejudice, to offer images of dignity, and to remind us that we are all closer than these walls of “tradition” suggest.