Seen / Unseen

In spite of some of my earlier posts I'm not always a fan of 'religious' or 'Christian' art, which can often be twee, or mawkish, or both.  Illustrating some of the narrative sections of the Bible can avoid some of these pitfalls, as in my posts on Elijah or the crucifixion of Jesus, but trying to depict some of the Bible's concepts can be more challenging.  Which is why I'm very fond of this photograph:

(Mary Gaston, Mystery & Ignorance, used with permission)

At first glance this both disturbs and baffles, creating a puzzle as we look at it.  Of course, this can and can't be read as a picture with a spiritual dimension and perhaps it's that level of uncertainty which creates the appeal for me.  If there's a link between this photograph and the Bible, I find it in words Jesus speaks:

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)

As in the picture, so in this statement, there are ways in which the unseen can become tangible, the spiritual part of our everyday lived experience.