When one thinks of the Tree of Life, several images may come to mind because of its deep roots in different cultures and religions. The first and last books of the Bible mention it together with the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden, while the Bodhi Tree in Buddhism was where Siddhartha Gautama […]
‘Enigma’: How Women’s Courage Moves Religious Belief and Progress
Enigma seeks to redefine and exemplify the role of women in the Bible. The exhibit connects to a specific woman and their importance in Biblical lore. Made and curated by a group of local women artists, it is showing in Modeka Art at Makati until April 3. It’s all anchored to the ultimate theme of forgiveness despite humanity’s imperfections.
“In its core, Enigma reveals that it is not our earthly states, be it what we do, in the past, present or the future, but it is our genuine embodiment of Jesus, amid our awareness of our own divinity, the goodness of our heart and the purest of our intentions that God glorifies,” Mimi Samson-Viola wrote.
The Enigma of Women in Religion
Enigma is a collaboration of ten artists invited to choose a Biblical character to represent through their artwork. The final pieces aim to explore how these characters’ faith translates into the context of modern society.
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Interesting depictions of these characters abound. Textile artist Olive Jaro Lopez tackles Hannah the barren woman. This Biblical character gave birth to the prophet Samuel as a reward for her faith in God. Lopez’s three contributions to the exhibit are Cattleya I to III. These textile works portray a flower opening up and blooming as the background between the three become more vibrant and colorful.
Environmental artist Yvette Co creates a series of paintings and wood carvings for her chosen Biblical woman. Her works depict Tamar, who went through radical lengths to “ensure her dead husbands’ family line and inheritance” by sleeping with their father Judah. Her children later became the ancestors of Jesus.
Jeona Zoleta, meanwhile, contributed two paintings related to Mary Magdalene. The first painting, When animals look back, when you’re naked: shapeshifting, is a colorfully-pink work of women happily drinking and bathing in a pool of water alongside different animals. The second painting, Staying with Trouble, is an surrealist work where a woman in a temple surrounded by doorways to different places gives birth to a child.
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Courage in Faith
A common theme between all the works is the necessity of courage and fearlessness in a woman’s day-to-day life. The people whom the Bible memorializes are the ones who act. While men are assured remembrance due to society’s biases, women have to push themselves courageously to the front to ensure that they get what they need to survive.
This radicalness can be seen in works like Mercedes Cabral’s mixed media triptych of Heroidas, Salome, and John. The first two are paintings of figures with a backdrop of grayness in their surroundings. The third is a sculpture of a skull. A red thread connects all three, from the sinful actions of Salome and Heroidas, to the death of John the Baptist.
That story has always been dark, with Salome cast as a villainous figure in the Bible. And yet, it also reinforces the need for women to have radical courage in order to secure their lives. It’s never really about being remembered by history for these women; it’s always about finding a way to survive.
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Enigma reinterprets the Bible as a book filled with women remembered for their fearless existence. But beyond that, it shows the comfort and security that many of them received from God for their actions. Laurel Ulrich once said that, “Well behaved women seldom make history.” This shows that even in the Bible, the women who are remembered are the ones who act, even if the world demands they sit down and be quiet.
Related reading: Agnes Arellano: ‘Bliss: Khajuraho Sketches’ and Finding Freedom in Sexuality
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