In celebration of the Art’s Month of the Philippines, Artist on a Mission, Kristine Lim, opens her Art Installation at Baluartillo de San Francisco Javier, Fort Santiago, Intramuros Manila. The Art Installation was entitled “Portraits of Christ”.
The installation started with a dedication ceremony by Pastor Monique Lopez – Ong (Head Pastor of Revelation City Church and Host of ABS-CBN’s Real Talk). Present with Kristine Lim to formally open the said exhibit are Atty. Guiller B. Asido (Administrator, Intramuros Administration), Mayor Victoria Lao Lim of Gasan Marinduque, Engr. Dimas S. Soguilon (Former USEC of DPWH), Susanne DS Tiausas (Managing Director of Art Lounge Manila), and Anjila Lim (Kristine’s Singaporean Partner and Friend who’s currently the Managing Director of AOR Global). Portriats of Christ was curated by Ian Belleza and Presented by the Department of Tourism, It’s More Fun In the Philippines, Intramuros Administration and Art Lounge Manila.
PORTRAITS OF CHRIST: ARTIST STATEMENT
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.
For centuries we have been fed with information that doesn’t faithfully reflect the truth, but it has been embedded in us so deeply that it is what we believe. We would fight even to death, even with friends and family, to be right with what we perceive as right. History books, news, media, even the books that our children read in schools have been our source of truth. But I stand with the absolute Truth, and there is no better source but the Bible. Victorious men wrote history, but the Bible are words of a victorious God. Both are ‘victorious,’ but it doesn’t mean they both uphold what’s accurate and true.
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. 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.
Kristine Lim
PORTRAITS OF CHRIST: Curator’s Note
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.
Ian Belleza
