Kristine Lim interprets it through different mediums in a tunnel draped with red velvet
“The face he showed in Jesus is really his true and single face,” says Hans Kung, a Catholic theologian. This begs to question what is Christ’s true face? Is it just truly a single face? Is the truth for many, the truth for all?
On exhibit until April 1 is “Portraits of Christ,” an art installation by Kristine Lim, where the artist on a mission wishes to share her personal view and opinion about the relatively controversial uncertainty.
“If I tell you that the face of God that you have been worshiping and praying to is far from what He looked like, for sure, you will argue with me. Anger and fury would be unsurprising emotions I'm ready to accept from people who would be offended after I say that line,” shares Kristine.
In celebration of our National Arts’ Month, Kristine Lim, opened her art installation at Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier, Fort Santiago, Intramuros Manila. It started with a dedication ceremony by Pastor Monique Lopez-Ong, the head pastor of Revelation City Church and host of ABS-CBN’s “Real Talk.”
As its curator Ian Belleza passionately puts it, “The Bible tells us to seek God, but how do we seek His face? What does God look like? Also, why do we need to look for Him? Some people may think that He is in hiding, but this is a wrong assumption. In fact, God wants us to seek him because He wants to be found.”
“With this in mind, we present Portraits of Christ, an exhibit by Kristine Lim. In this exhibit, we have a tunnel draped with red velvet to symbolize life and love. We also have mirrors hanging along the draperies. As you walk along the tunnel, you are encouraged to reflect on your life and your relationship with God. Gaze into the mirrors and who do you see? Obviously, you see a reflection of yourself. However, have you ever thought about being with God when you gaze in the mirror? Remember, God made man in His image. This is what Kristine Lim wants us to remember as we take a walk along her exhibit. Thus, we see the many Portraits of Christ,” he adds.
“Portraits of Christ taps on the controversy in history and theology that no one truly knows the real face of Jesus. The face that we recognize to be our Lord’s is, in fact, far from what He could have looked like. The different interpretations of the face of Christ have been dependent on the culture, taste, and era of the artist that envisioned and forged it. It has also heavily relied on the income that the churches can get based on the responses to the religious visuals that people were presented with,” Kristine intricately shares.
“This was very evident during the time of Pope Leo X, as overly pointed out by Martin Luther. If we are to read and understand the Bible truly, the best way to see the face of Christ is to see our worth and the worth of others. He died for us on the cross as a ransom for our lives so we may be forgiven of our sins and freely live forever. His life is equivalent to our lives and the lives of others – including those we hate and despise. To truly see who Christ is in our lives, we have to see His worth in who we are and His worth in everyone we encounter. To know the face of Christ we have to search, face, and accept the absolute truth that we can only find in Him," she adds.
”Portraits of Christ” is on display at the Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila until April 1.