Many Catholic communities honor The Virgin Mother, yet no other community
celebrates the image of The Virgin as do the people of South Louisiana. Statues
of The Virgin Mary have long been associated with hidden gardens, and shrines,
yet in Acadiana this icon has become something more. These Virgin statues, no
longer confined to secret gardens, proudly guard the homes of the region.

     The Immigrant Italians told stories of The Virgin protecting homes from storms
and gulf winds. A devastating fire ravaged New Orleans in 1812. The nuns of the
Ursaline Convent in New Orleans placed a statue of Mary in a window of the
convent and were miraculously spared. The people of Pierre Part built and island
shrine of The Virgin after the town was spared from a hurricane. A statue of The
Virgin still stands behind St. Louis cathedral in New Orleans, even after hurricane
Katrina flooded 80% of the city. The cathedral escaped major damage from the storm.
These statues have become an integral part of the landscape with no one myth, story
or belief explaining The Blue Virgins.

     Such precedents have encouraged residents throughout South Louisiana to
welcome the statues as protectors of their homes and lives in the colorful cultural
traditions of this unique area of the world.

     The images shown are a combination of these statues and visions of the landscape
in which they reside created digitally by artist Mark Charleville. A collection of these
prints has been shown at:

          Tower Gallery, Shreveport, Louisiana

          Marian Library, International Research Institute, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio

          Festival International Artwalk, Up Gallery, Lafayette, Louisiana

          The Rock N’ Bowl Cafe, New Orleans, Louisiana

          The West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, Louisiana

          The Opelousas Museum of Art, Opelousas, Louisiana

     For more information about booking an exhibition of “The Land Of The Blue Virgins”,
please contact the artist. Individual prints are available. These are limited edition giclee
prints on water color paper.