Macarena Esperanza

Audrey Flack depicts a celebrated statue of the Virgin Mary made by the Spanish Baroque sculptor Luisa Roldán (1652–1706), venerated to this day in Seville. Borne by penitents and accompanied by hymns of sorrow, the statue Macarena Esperanza (Our Lady of Hope of Macarena) is paraded as part of Holy Week celebrations. Devotees believe the statue is the Virgin Mary herself and attribute miraculous capacities to it. Through devotion to wooden statues like Roldàn’s, believers hope to bring about positive change in their lives.

Flack highlights the precious jewels, lace, and gold that have been added to the sculpture over time, representing them as if they are apart from the figure, suggesting that the Macarena’s power emanates from within. Flack’s work, though large, resembles the qualities of a postcard (the way in which Flack was first introduced to the sculpture). Through its mode of reproduction, Flack effectively demonstrates a widely held Catholic belief: that replication enhances, rather than detracts from, the power of miraculous objects.