Galatians

Galatians

In this work, I have chosen to use parachutes and fabrics that symbolize the Holy Spirit within me. How like a parachute God's spirit lifts me, opening glimpses of heaven to me while I am still here on earth. How he is a constant helper, leading me towards my true self. Teaching me who Jesus truly is, not who the world has depicted him to be. Teaching me who I am, not what I thought I was or who the world has taught me to be.

The strings of the parachute are attached to a young woman in the painting. This woman wears the parachutes in the same way that she wears Christ's Holy Spirit in her body. The parachute is much larger and surrounds the woman, emphasizing God's presence, his love, and power at work in her life. She wears the Holy Spirit like a beautiful garment and when they see her, they see him too. I wanted the ropes to symbolize Christ's hold on her life, that even though she will have moments of feeling like she is falling from the sky, the parachute is a safeguard keeping her from death. The red fabric symbolizes God's love, how it enfolds her above and around her head. It gives her the ability to be a beacon of light and love to others so that they too might feel Christ's love through her.

She then has become - the Modern Tabernacle.

The woman in the artwork is unaware of the presence of red fabric behind her but in her hand, she holds onto a piece of it. This speaks to the fact that even though I know Jesus loves me, it is the Holy Spirit that is helping me with the revelation of that love. It hasn't been easy for me to accept such a full love knowing I've done nothing to deserve it. And I guess I think that is what is so precious about it. We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). But what I do know is that the love God has revealed to me has transformed my life. What's amazing is - like in the artwork, although I'm holding onto a piece of it, there is so much of it I have yet to experience. 

The Modern Tabernacle

Artist’s Statement

Because my body is a temple, "it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."

Galatians 2 vs 20-21

The encompassing of this scripture in my life is currently moving and has moved me into depths I could have never imagined for myself. This series of artworks is about my experience as a follower of Christ. The grappling to understand and to seek him in a relationship and not religion. This scripture by my favorite Apostle Paul, constantly reminds me that God chose to die for me and live in me even while I was still a sinner. That my body has now become a temple where his spirit dwells and teaches and loves in and through me. In the Old Testament, the Tabernacle (Exodus 25) during the time of Moses was a temple where God's spirit rested and ruled. It was a place of worship. It was treated with honor, respect, and reverence. Now in the New Testament, His presence left the Tabernacle/Temple and now He resides in me. And as the chosen dwelling of the Lord, He calls me to value, respect, and honor myself. This is something I'm learning in the journey with him. I have not yet attained it but I am recognizing that it is a process of unlearning all the self-judgment and criticism I indulge in. In the journey of my life, I picked up certain things along the way. I was taught that self-love was a form of vanity. That to find any worth or value I needed to be valuable by what I do and what I have to show. This entailed being good at something or performing my identity in ways, pleased people. So, people-pleasing became a part of my identity.

 When I began my walk with Christ, learning that I was loved fully and that there was nothing I did or could do to deserve it - became a struggle for me. I was a performance-based Christian and that's not the kind of relationship Christ was calling me into. And so, He is helping me slowly unlearn being approved, loved, or acknowledged for how I perform but rather start learning how I am valuable to him just because I simply am. In all the artworks I use 3 colours. Red, Purple and Blue. These 3 colours symbolize the veil of the temple. This veil, described first and most fully in descriptions of the tabernacle, was made of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen. Generally, this veil separated the holy place from the holy of holies. This place (the holy of holies) was thought to be a replica of heaven in the tabernacle. Hebrews 10:20 tells us that this veil typifies Christ’s body. When His body was offered on the cross, the veil in the temple tore from top to bottom. The veil being torn in two speaks of the body of Jesus Christ being broken on our behalf to make access to Him possible. It means that the barrier between us and him has been removed.