Ashley Burnett confronts the societally ingrained teachings of purity culture by drawing on her personal experiences, as a woman, growing up within the Southern Baptist Community. The ethos taught caused a split of identity which led to a reckoning, then redefinition of her faith. She meditates on the uncomfortable nature of transformation and the consequences of choice, aiming to reflect upon her history through the use of mermaids, pearls, oysters, shells, and seaweed as allegorical motifs.

 

Burnett received her B.F.A from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and her M.F.A in Studio Art at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.