This painting entitled Fire & Ice was created before the sudden rash of headlines about Christian persecution in Iraq and Sudan.
Other countries experience persecution of faith, but none have hit the media as hard as the recent atrocities of the persecution of Christians in Iraq.
As a Winnipeg artist, I conceived of this painting based on the true story of an Anabaptist in the 1500’s. His name was Dirk Willems and he was burned at the stake for his belief in the practice of adult baptism. Incredibly, Willems was executed following his heroic act of rescuing his pursuer who fell through the ice of a moat.
Dirk Willems’ heroism and compassion is still widely celebrated by Anabaptists today.
On the announcement of the theme this year’s Art Expo, the visual of two hands reaching toward each other came to my mind. The fire of course, represents the man who reached out the hand of rescue and then was burned at the stake. The icy blue section is the hand of the man who was rescued, yet was still ‘cold’ enough to turn in his rescuer to be executed.
The painting will be displayed as part of the Human Rights Showcase Gallery at this year’s Manitoba Art Expo. The special themed showcase is in honour of the opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, which is slated to open in September.
Art Expo will feature up to 50 of Manitoba’s finest artists, under one roof for three days – Oct. 24th to 26th at Assiniboia Downs. For more information visit: www.manitobaartexpo.ca.
Watch CNC and Manitoba Art Expo websites for updates on this continuing series of articles highlighting artists in this year’s Human Rights Showcase Gallery.
Photo by Ebonie Klassen Photography
BIO: Faye Hall is an emerging artist in Winnipeg recently celebrating her first major showing at the Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery June 26 – Sept. 13th, 2014. The gallery presents a wide cross-section of her work in abstract and realistic portraiture. The showing is featuring several of the 32 paintings she created over the last two years for a new children’s book for the Mully Children’s Family, an orphanage in Kenya. Written by local author Paul H. Boge, the book will be released by Castle Quay Publishing in fall 2014.
Click here to see all of the articles in this series by Faye Hall.
