At the start of this holiday, I started working on my Magnum Opus. Quite literally, I am expecting this collection to be one of my greatest work so far and as such, I decided to name the collection Magnum Opus. I was planning this collection since the end of 2009, but ahad trouble commuting to it, but now that I feel lot more confident in my skills and my design ability, I think I can do justice to what I've always wanted to do. I was inspired by Christianity, especially it's message of love. I find the life of Jesus Christ so inspiring and beautiful. Using a religious theme is possibly very tricky as well as risky, but with this collection, I am not making any compromisation. I will represen Jesus in all his glory, whether people like it or not is completely beyond me. That being said, I have a difficult job of doing the best that I can to get over the initial hesitation people have with Christianity. I have to work doubly hard to create something beautiful so that people will over look the fact that it is inspired by something many people in the industry hesitate to accept.
I was reading Ezekiel and its description of an angel, or more specifically a cherub inspired me.
It is definitely what many people have in mind when they visualise an angel, but I found the biblical imagery frightening yet beautiful. I understand (from my brief time, a semester, in a Bible college) that visions of the prophet shouldn't always be interpreted literally. Ezekiel saw beings of heavenly realm which cannot be understood or even be perceived in our physical state, and in his desperate effort to write what he saw, he had chosen to describe the beings in such way but I felt there really is no way of understanding the true nature of these beings so I decided to remain truthful to the prophet's description of a cherub. According to Ezekiel Cherub's have four faces, one resembling a human, the others resembling lion, ox and eagle. It has hands of man but feet as a calf. they have four wings, a pair stretches towards heaven to support the throne of God and the other two covers its body.
I decided to use calico and paint the images before turning my paintings into a garment. Calico is one of the cheapest fabric which is used to create mock ups, yet this fabric is used to make canvases. It is then turned into an artwork which defines history and lasts forever. I loved the idea of such a humble fabric being turned into something no other fancy fabric can become and I thought it was a perfect metaphor for Christianity and what it stands for. I've spent about a week painting this much, and I have a lot to go because I am not holding anything back with this collection, but I feel excited for this collection and I think it will be amazing.
-seph-
An image of a cherub according to the description of Ezekiel
