God's Gift

Limited Edition Digital Print, Edition of 5. God's Gift was created out of a piece of criticism about my character that eventually led to a period of introspection and resulted in the amalgamation of two stories; Jesus walking on water and Narcissus becoming spellbound by his own reflection. Conceptually, it's meant to convey the idea of one's self-perception not aligning with the way others may see that person. Qualities like aloofness or indifference to matters of significant importance to the common man may be things we attribute to a spiritual prophet, like Jesus, but seen through the wrong lens could very easily be interpreted as loftiness and narcissism. It's the blurred lines between these two distinct and contrasting personalities that the work aims to explore. Visually, the colours of the suit resemble the red and Marian blue robes seen in religious iconography while the cross pattern helps reinforce the allusions to Christ. The daffodil/narcissus flower is symbolic of the flowers that grew at the watery site of Narcissus' death while also being a symbol of rebirth in some cultures, therefore, sharing links to the resurrection of Christ. The title, God's Gift also points to a connection between the two stories but can be interpreted as contrasting sentiments. At once, it references Christ being that gift from God according to Christian doctrine while conversely alluding to the haughty mentality of a narcissistic personality disorder.