Artwork Description:
Station number SIX is entitled, VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF CHRIST. This wall assemblage was executed in mixed media on stretched canvas. Veronica, a woman in the crowd that lined the way to Calvary, stepped in front of Christ and washed the blood and dirt from His face. According to Early Christian legend, an exact facial imprint of Jesus was immediately transferred onto her cloth. I wanted this canvas to have the appearance of an ancient wall. I wanted the viewer to feel as if she or he was looking into a timeless place, a place where the blood covered face of Christ still haunts humanity with unconditional love. I used only two colors in this STATION, which were crimson, representing the royal blood, and gold, to symbolize royal sacrifice. I used only two symbols, which were the face of Jesus and the segment of a real rosebush twig that was treated with polymers and dipped in gold dust. I hand painted the face on parchment and then scanned the image for duplication. Thirteen smaller versions of this image were attached around the central drawing via the use of natural glue. My other materials included metallic thread, acrylic polymer emulsions, acrylic paint, gloss acrylic gel, India ink, parchment, rice paper, gold dust, and stretched canvas over wood.