The Gospel in Art--Jesus the Bondage Breaker on canvas

One of my students, Kayla Wilson, has painted a work that she calls "Bondage Breaker" and has invited the viewer into her "studio" to see the work come together in the video below. Following, she discusses aspects of the painting, the accompanying song, and her intended audience.  

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This painting has several elements at play . . . first the background of the painting sets th general tone of heaven above with the world below.  I used yellow to give the viewer a feeling of hope or joy in association with heaven.  Also, Jesus appears to be moving toward the lightest part of the painting away from the darkness below. 

The black and grey tones used along the bottom of the painting represent man’s depravity and the fallen earth.  This should give the viewer an awareness of his own imperfection in relation to the brightness above.
 
The chains riding on the cross represent sin. I wanted to address not only the individual sins of this audience but also those sins participated in by the community as a whole.  Specifically for my target audience these chains represent things like alcohol/ drug addiction, child abuse, pornography, abortion, materialism and other forms of idolatry that lift individual desires above God.

The expression on Jesus’ face conveys the weight of these sins.  Parts of his arm, hands, and face are bloodied or bruised representing his humanity.  This also shows how our darkness was transferred to him but he is still able to continue into the light through his work on the cross.  I wanted to emphasize here the sacrifice made by Christ that allows us to be freed from our chains.

The hands reaching up represent the people of the world.  The different skin tones show how this message is applicable to every member of the postmodern community regardless of ethnicity.  Every hand is outstretched and reaching upward but they are not reaching for Christ himself.  Instead of reaching for the answer they are reaching for the chains he is trying to free them from.  They reach for what is tangible, familiar, and concrete.  This shows how man is continually enslaving himself to the world despite Christ’s offer of freedom.

Ironically, my favorite part of this painting is the way that those outstretched hands are reaching for their chains but are coincidently reaching in the direction of Jesus, because he carries their chains.  Sometimes our desperate grasp on the sin in our lives can awaken our hearts to our own shortcomings and remind us of the need for freedom.  Again, the painting provides the answer to this need by emphasizing Jesus as the “bondage breaker”.

The words of the song playing in the background of the video say, “I still have my doubts, I am damaged at best like you’ve already figured out.  (Chorus) I’m falling apart, I’m barely breathing, with a broken heart that’s still beating, in the pain there is healing, in your name I find meaning so I’m holding on.”

I think that these words reveal the true heart of many people who have been influenced by postmodernism, especially those who come from a Christian background.  There is this idea that man has “outgrown religion” and is too educated to really believe in the power of Jesus.  However, this is contrasted against the brokenness we see in our own lives leaving us hopeful that we were wrong in the first place and there is something more.

The overall purpose of this painting was to magnify the power of Christ’s work on the cross as the breaker of the chains that we run to.  It is also a reminder of man’s sinful devotion to the world and its trappings.  However, the beauty of this picture can be found in the idea that even our depravity can be used to draw us toward the truth, hope and freedom.