Christ Triumphant

At Easter time, and for some weeks prior, the stores are all full of chocolate Easter eggs and chocolate bunnies.
It is as though the Easter festival has degenerated into a “chocolate fest”. I’m the first to admit a liking for chocolate – and I know full well that the festival celebrating the spring equinox predates the resurrection of Christ, by many hundreds, if not thousands of years - but it does seem to me that the actual Christian significance of Easter has been somewhat lost in commercialism. So I had the notion that if something of spiritual value could be salvaged from the commercial dross of Easter it would be worthwhile. The idea I had was to save all the coloured foil wrappers from my children’s Easter eggs and use these to make a montage depicting Jesus on the cross. But whereas virtually every depiction of the crucifixion shows Christ dead or near death and apparently defeated, I wanted to emphasize Christ’s victory – which is why I have titled the work ‘Christ Triumphant’ – and why I have shown Christ’s arms raised in a victorious gesture, his head uplifted, his eyes wide open and the crown of thorns more like a triumphant wreath after the Roman style. He was, after all, crucified under Roman jurisdiction. The image of Christ is contained within the shape of an egg, which itself symbolises rebirth (among other things) and Christ’s halo becomes the shape of the yoke within the egg – the part that nourishes growth. (To give you an idea of scale, Christ’s halo in the montage is 13 inches across, or 33 centimeters.) Working with Easter egg wrappers presented some unusual challenges – not least of which was collecting them. The available colours are somewhat limiting and their total opaqueness and fragility make the process painfully slow ( I’ve been working on it off and on for several years). The frame is not finished yet - but since it’s nearly Easter I felt it appropriate to share it. Photographing a reflective work with a digital camera seems almost impossible but the photos posted in the gallery will give you an idea of what it is like. (if anyone would like a better resolution image emailed I'd be happy to send it) Anyhow – for me at least, the creation of this image of Christ from recycled Easter egg wrappers, actualizes the reality that Christ truly has triumphed over the commercialization of Easter in a very real way.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
I wish you all a safe and joyful Easter. In peace, light and love - Steve