Spirituality Shown in Art
Recently we held two ethno-arts workshops, the first in Alice Springs at the Baptist Church and the latter at Ti Tree.
These were held at the initiative of my wife Ming Fang, who had done fundraising for this purpose. Her vision was to encourage Indigenous folk to try their hand at painting stories from the Bible, which could be used to retell stories to their families. The theme chosen for these workshops was the healing of the paralytic in Mark 5:1-12, where the paralytic was lowered through the roof of Jesus’ home in Capernaum, to Jesus. It was hoped to lead to a discussion of the forgiveness of sins, and to see whether such a spiritual concept may be rendered in art. The Bible story was carefully read in two languages before the painting started, and every day for five days, the story was discussed or re-enacted.
At Ti Tree we had about 10 people participating, including a few young men, who were given the freedom to paint another Bible story if they wished. We carried it on for a couple of days and finished with a worship gathering on Sunday, when the paintings were displayed.
On Anzac Day we held a separate event at Ti Tree park, joined by seven women from Six Mile and the town area. We were also joined by a well-known local painter, April, along with her mother. Then disaster nearly struck! We didn’t allow enough for the wind in our risk assessment! A sudden wind gust came and picked up a heavy metal whiteboard and it missed the elderly Eileen by inches. We thank God that it missed her, or we might have had a disaster on our hands.
Both workshops were wonderful activities enabling Indigenous people to use canvas and paint and interact with the Bible stories in an unhurried, communal way. It was moving to see how peacefully they worked, and how contented was the atmosphere when Christian music was played, especially sung in their languages.
