My first themed entry to an Art Award

This year, for the first time, I decided to work towards a themed art award and chose the prestigious Mandorla Art Award. The 2016 theme was The Resurrection.

Although I was not selected as a finalist for the exhibition, the experience proved highly rewarding. It required extensive research and the thoughtful integration of many elements to form a cohesive and expressive work.

This was my entry.

My statement about the artwork and how it addresses the theme of

RESURRECTION

This sculpture explores both Christ’s suffering and his boundless forgiveness, bringing together a rich language of symbols that reflect his divine mission. For many, the story of the Resurrection remains difficult to comprehend. In response, the artist adopts a deliberately naïve visual approach, embedding symbolic imagery—sacrifice, body and blood, peace, forgiveness, and the eternal cycle of life—to communicate meaning in a more immediate and accessible way. Though crucified, Christ’s spirit and heart remain unbroken, free, and eternal. Only the nails and the traces of blood on the cross recall the tragedy of his earthly end.

Material choice and process are central to the work’s meaning. All elements are recycled, suggesting renewal and the continuation of life beyond death. To reflect the brutality of the Roman crucifixion, a chainsaw—the roughest of tools—was used to shape Christ’s body, with bark intentionally left untouched at the heart and mind, symbolising inner peace and spiritual resilience. The figure itself remains raw and untreated, carved from New Zealand Christmas tree and wire-brushed to intensify the sense of physical torment. Over time, natural cracking will further mark the surface, contributing to a slow, ongoing process of decay that echoes suffering and mortality.

The crucifix, constructed from raw Jarrah beams, references the timber used by the Romans. The crown of thorns, the INRI inscription attributed to Pontius Pilate, and the physical wounds all reinforce both the humiliation and pain endured. Yet, within this suffering, Christ’s forgiveness prevails—extended not only to his tormentors but to all humanity. His sacrifice is echoed in the tradition of the Eucharist, where bread and wine symbolise his body and blood, uniting believers in both remembrance and spiritual nourishment: “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the chalice, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:26).

The turned and varnished Jarrah base, circular in form, represents the turning earth and the cycle of life. Its carved edge reflects human interaction with the land—taking, shaping, building, and living from it—while also evoking the form of a tombstone, containing what is earthly below. The absence of Christ’s lower body suggests his return to the earth, becoming part of its natural cycle. Only by “breaking the seal” of the earth—symbolised by the varnished surface—can transcendence occur, allowing the spirit to rise to God the Father. In the Resurrection, Christ leaves the earth behind, yet returns bearing a message of peace: “My peace I give you; my peace I leave with you… Peace be with you.”

This message is embodied in the outstretched arms, formed in silver wire, releasing doves as symbols of peace and hope. The stainless steel circle surrounding the figure suggests both Christ’s aura and the eternal cycle of life, death, and rebirth. As a form without beginning or end, it signifies continuity and the enduring promise of eternal life. Christ’s upward-reaching form ultimately guides the viewer beyond suffering, pointing toward transcendence and the promise of renewal.