The primary motif of Faith, Hope and Charity is a semi-realistic alimentary canal.
Dead center is a star of black lines surmounted by sprays of silver gray.
Its title is also its spidery inscription. Early critics read these works as political commentary, a biting condemnation of the religious pretensions and moralistic rhetoric of the Reagan White House. At the same time, the colon terminates in an anus, an organ with obvious associations to the gay male body. The central star can also be read as a puckered anus, although it also suggests a magical spirit. Recent histories of homosexuality and its cognates emphasize anality as one of the identifying tropes of gay male identity.