By Isaac Hans

Author’s Note: As the Anselm Society heads into a new year, we are creating new structures, more ways to organize and offer our thoughts and ramblings. This is the little corner that I’ve been given to steward (and to ramble about). Each quarter, I’ll highlight a visual artist whose work interacts with what Anselm discusses at large.

In 2023, I found myself sitting in the back of a lecture hall, captivated by the story of Dylan Mortimer. I’ve always loved hearing artists talk about their process. But Dylan’s story stuck with me in a way few others have. Diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at just three years old, he described his lifelong battle with the disease in vivid, raw detail.

Walking into one of Dylan’s shows (or any art exhibition, really) without knowing its story, is an easy way to miss the gravity of his work. As Christians, we sometimes fall into the habit of dismissing art with a casual, “I don’t get it,” without digging deeper. But think about how intimidating the Bible can feel to someone approaching it for the first time, and how much context is needed to fully grasp the weight of the story. We ask people to enter the story of Scripture with an open mind—and I think we owe art the same kind of effort.

Dylan’s life has been marked by extraordinary trials. He’s received two lung transplants: one in 2017 and another in 2019. After his first transplant, his body began rejecting the lungs. Through what he describes as a miraculous social media connection, he found another donor and underwent the second transplant. The work he made during these years reflects the emotional rollercoaster of that time: hope, despair, and everything in between. Pieces like WTFHITSG (What the F***ing Hell Is This Sh**, God?), Help My Unbelief, and Ascension speak to the honesty of his faith journey. The titles might be crass, but if you’ve ever been in a dark place, they’ll also feel deeply relatable. Even the most devout among us aren’t immune to moments of doubt and anger with God when life falls apart.

As you move through Dylan’s work, certain visual motifs emerge again and again. There’s the green, sludge-like forms that call to mind the thick mucus filling the lungs of those with cystic fibrosis. Bronchi shapes resemble tree branches or lungs themselves. And then there are spores—delicate, almost celestial, often acting as halos. But one element is impossible to miss: glitter. It’s everywhere. Pictures of his work don’t quite capture how the glitter transforms the pieces in person. It elevates them, turning the ordinary into something dazzling, something sacred. And it’s not solely for aesthetic purposes. Glitter gets everywhere, it doesn’t come out, and it makes the paint thick—much like the mucus that runs through Dylan’s body.

The work pulls no punches. It’s packed with doctors, IV bags, ambulances, and fellow patients. But the beauty and relatability of Dylan’s art lies in its specificity. That might sound counterintuitive; most of us don’t know what it’s like to live with cystic fibrosis. But his work taps into something universal: the push and pull of hope and despair, the gut-level honesty of suffering. And for those of us who create, it’s a reminder of why we make art at all—to make sense of our experiences, to emote, to wrestle with what it means to live alongside God.

Dylan Mortimer’s work challenges us to embrace the tension between suffering and glory, doubt and faith, the ordinary and the sacred. His story reminds us that art, like life, often requires context and effort to truly understand—but the rewards for engaging deeply are profound. As Christians, we’re called to look for the beauty and meaning that God weaves into every part of life, even the messy and painful parts. Dylan’s glitter-covered, visceral, and deeply sincere work invites us to do just that: to see the holiness in our darkest moments.

*Every Pill I’ve Ever Taken*, Dylan Mortimer

Dylan Mortimer

Dylan Mortimer graduated with a BFA Kansas City Art Institute and a MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He exhibition history includes the University of Southern California, Dallas Theological Seminary, Haw Contemporary, and Columbia University. He has also created public art installations in several cities including New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Kansas City and Denver. He and his wife Shannon have two sons and live in Los Angeles.

Interested in more like this? Check out:

More of Dylan Mortimer’s work

The paintings of Edward Hopper on loneliness and belonging.

Rebecca Campell’s Young Americans, an exploration of the highs and lows of youth.

Isaac Hans is a visual artist and photographer based out of Colorado Springs. Influenced by the history of American road trip photography, his work focuses around ideas of longing, spirituality, and the mundane.

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