read John 11:1-45
from the artist | Hannah Garrity (Unbind Him, paper lace over oil paint on linen)
As I met with this text, I was drawn to Jesus’ call for
Lazarus to be unbound. To represent the fabrics used in preparation for burial,
I wrapped a canvas in linen. You’re not really supposed to do that. The canvas
was already stretched and gessoed. It was ready to resist the oil paint medium
I was applying. However, the texture of the binding cloth matters for this
tactile text. I began to scrape the paint onto the woven strands. The linen
fabric absorbed the paint as I scraped it on with a palette knife. In the final
image, the linen shows through the paint and the paper lace design, representing
the bindings.
Jesus' call for unbinding also includes the community. The
foreshortened hands of the community, tasked with unbinding his body, reach in
toward Lazarus. They reach through the concentric binding lines so that he can
go free. Can these bones live?
In the strength of community, they can. The community made
up of Jews, Gentiles, Samaritans, and others all joined one another at the tomb
to grieve for Lazarus that day. They came to support Mary and Martha. Jesus
arrives as the community mourns together. Jesus cries in his grief. Their
collective tears create the backdrop for this paper lace design. This diverse
and neighborly community is who Jesus calls on to do the unbinding. Jesus makes
sure that the community knows about this miracle so that they can share the
news. Can these bones live? Lazarus lives, and Jesus’ miracle lives on in the
telling.
*reprinted with permission from A Sanctified Art
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