We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
—2 Peter 1:19 (KJV)
(Related post: https://artandtheology.org/2023/12/19/advent-day-17-yonder-come-day/)
LOOK: Shather Alfairooz (Gold Specks of Turquoise) by Nabeela Al Khayer
The Bahraini artist Nabeela Al Khayer likes to play with color, fabric, and photographs in her work, often writing poetic notes in Arabic in the borders. She uses resin, oil, acrylic, and watercolors to create texture and movement.
I learned about Al Khayer through CARAVAN [previously], an international nonprofit dedicated to building bridges through the arts, fostering peace, harmony, and wholeness in the world. It was founded in 2009 by Paul G. Chandler, an Anglican clergyman and US citizen. Al Khayer was one of thirty-one contemporary women artists from the Middle East featured in CARAVAN’s exhibition I AM, which opened at the National Gallery of Fine Arts in Amman, Jordan, in 2017. In her statement, she writes that Shather Alfairooz (Gold Specks of Turquoise) “depicts the intangible human emotions that carry in their midst layers of pain, suffering, and love.”
The mixed-media work shows a silhouetted woman in profile, gazing straight ahead at a column of light. She, too, appears to be softly lit from within. Her cupped hand, raised toward her chest, may be a spiritual gesture—perhaps she’s inviting God in, or acknowledging a warm interior sensation.
LISTEN: “Day Star” by the Brothers of Abriem Harp, on Again I Glorify: Demos and Outtakes on the Road to Last Days (2018)
O Day Star, in my heart arise
Cloak my thoughts with thy love
O Day Star, in my heart arise
Greet me as the mourning doveSing to me a song of mercy
Sing to me a song of love
O Day Star, in my heart arise
Wake me with the morning lightO Son of mercy, Son of love
Warmth of grace felt from above
Awake my spirit with a song
Let my heart sing at the dawnSing, I sing to call you holy
Sing, I sing to praise your name
O Jesus, let this be my song
Let my heart to you belong
The Brothers of Abriem Harp are Joe Kurtz, Josh Compton, Matt Kurtz, and John Finley. This song is an outtake from their excellent album Last Days, which I reviewed here.
Art & Theology 