Statement
Melody Bellefeuille-Frost explores themes of journeying and home on personal, intercultural, and theological levels. Referencing mapped and imagined places, her mixed media collages layer paper, pencil, ink, paint, tea, soil, thread, fabric, vinyl, canvas, and pocket-sized items gathered during travel. These materials are often juxtaposed and portable, having been gathered from and transported between various places. For Melody, artmaking is a method of navigating transience and rootedness, with collages becoming milestones or havens along the way. These new spaces invite viewers to contemplate their own journeys and the possibility of welcome in the world we share.
Bio
Melody Bellefeuille-Frost is a Canadian artist from Ottawa, Ontario. She is a PhD Divinity candidate at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts (ITIA) at the University of St Andrews. Her research compares images of Christ in European Jesuit and Japanese Christian art from the 16th and 17th centuries, with the aim of better appreciating the theological themes apparent in the artworks. In 2022-2023, Melody was the ITIA Artist in Residence and led Transept, a postgraduate group of artists and theologians associated with the University of St Andrews and its wider community. Melody earned an MA in Intercultural Studies with an emphasis in Worship, Theology, and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and a BA in Applied Linguistics from Moody Bible Institute. In addition to making and studying art, she speaks about its relationship with theology and leads creative workshops for youth and adults.