Tag: butterflies

South African photographer Justin Dingwall (born 1983) seeks to depict beauty in difference. For his Albus series—Latin for “white” or “bright”—he worked with South African models and activists Thando Hopa and Sanele Junior Xaba, who have albinism. Albinism is a hereditary condition that affects melanin production, resulting in little to no pigmentation in the skin, hair, and eyes. It is more prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa than in the rest of the world, and people with the condition often face marginalization, discrimination, and even deadly violence.

In many ways Dingwall’s Albus series, which comprises several dozen photographs, is about metamorphosing perceptions about albinism, subverting the idea that it’s a curse; “by using butterflies my aim was to influence the viewer’s vision to be transformed, allowing them to view albinism in a new light—as something unique and beautiful,” he said. But the theme of transformation, of death and rebirth, as portrayed in some of the photos of Xaba, also connects with the narrative of Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection, the model’s poses evoking traditional Christian imagery. (Not to mention how some of the photos of Hopa intentionally reference Mother Mary.)

Rhapsody I, II, and III form a passion triptych of sorts, a sequence of three photos that show a male figure, clothed in a loincloth, falling into darkness—and yet, illuminated from above, he looks up toward the light.

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I’m reminded of Jesus speaking to his Father in Gethsemane, and at his crucifixion. Of all the art that shows him stumbling on his way to Calvary (“Jesus falls” makes up three of the fourteen stations of the cross). And especially of his slumped body being lowered from the cross. All the supporting characters, however, are absent, intensifying our focus on this lone Christ figure.

Consider some of the compositional similarities between Dingwall’s three Rhapsody photographs and the following explicitly Christological artworks. (To view the full caption, click on the bottom of the image.)

Francisco Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828), Christ on the Mount of Olives, 1819. Oil on panel, 18.5 × 13.7 in. (47 × 35 cm). Escuelas Pías de San Antón, Madrid. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Francisco_de_Goya_y_Lucientes_-_Christ_on_the_Mount_of_Olives_-_WGA10089.jpg

William Blake (British, 1757–1827), The Agony in the Garden, ca. 1799–1800. Tempera on tinned iron, 27 × 38 cm. Tate, London. http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/N05894

Peter Howson (Scottish, 1958–), Agony in the Garden, 2005. Oil on board, 12 × 12 in. (31 × 30 cm). http://www.flowersgallery.com/works/view/12493-agony-in-the-garden

Penny Warden (British, 1956–), Station 9: Jesus Falls for the Third Time, 2005. Oil on canvas, 6 × 3 ft. Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashire, England. http://www.thejourney.me.uk/

Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), Christ on the Cross, 1631. Oil on canvas, glued to panel, 39 3/8 × 28 3/4 in. (100 × 73 cm). Église Saint-Vincent, Le Mas-d’Agenais, Lot-et-Garonne, France. http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/rembrandt/christ-on-the-cross-1631

El Greco (Greek Spanish, 1541–1614), Christ Crucified with Toledo in the Background, 1604–14. Oil on canvas, 111 × 69 cm. Fundación Banco Santander, Madrid. https://www.fundacionbancosantander.com/coleccion/en/el-greco-domenikos-theotokopoulos/christ-crucified-with-toledo-in-the-background/

Greg Semu (New Zealand Samoan, 1971–), Auto Portrait with Crucifix, 1997. A/P selenium-toned fiber-based silver gelatin handprint. http://www.gregsemu.photography/unnerved

Descent from the Cross, South Netherlandish, early 16th century. Oak, polychromy and gilding, 23 3/4 × 11 1/4 × 4 3/4 in. (60.3 × 28.6 × 12.1 cm). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/462888

Anthony van Dyck (Flemish, 1599–1641), The Deposition, ca. 1619. Oil on canvas, 81.4 × 53.9 in. (207 × 137 cm). Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Van_Dyck-Deposition-Ashmolean.jpg

Michelangelo (Italian, 1475–1564), The Deposition of Christ, aka Pietà Bandini (unfinished), 1545–55. Marble, height 88.9 in. (226 cm). Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, Florence. http://www.philipchircop.com/post/159587716897/my-orphaned-womb-quakes-my-soul-is-the-soul-of (alt photo: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Pieta_Bandini_Opera_Duomo_Florence_n01.jpg)

Caravaggio (Italian, 1571–1610), The Entombment of Christ, ca. 1602–3. Oil on canvas, 118.1 × 79.9 in. (300 × 203 cm). Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican City. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Caravaggio_-_La_Deposizione_di_Cristo.jpg

Arup Das (Indian, 1924–2004), Agony, 1969. Oil on canvas, 45.7 × 33.7 in. (116 × 85.5 cm).

Macha Chmakoff (French, 1952–), Descent from the Cross (4). Oil on canvas, 81 × 65 cm. https://chmakoff.com/nouveau-testament/

Cindy Jackson (American, 1960–2017), Falling Jesus Swag Lamp, 2014. Polyurethane, tulle fabric, and LED lights. https://imagejournal.org/article/cindy-jacksons-bevy-boisterous-bodies/

Michael Triegel (German, 1968–), Am Kreuz (At the Cross), 2008. Mixed media on MDF board, 78 × 124 cm. Fritz P. Mayer Collection, Frankfurt am Main / Leipzig. https://www.bachmuseumleipzig.de/de/bach-museum/vorschau

Suggestive of burial, Embrace by Dingwall shows a man wrapped, cocoon-like, in white linen, lying against a black ground. His face, again, catches the light, and he appears to be at peace. He is resting in this silent, in-between time that precedes the emergence of new life.

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More explicitly inspired by Christian visual traditions is Dingwall’s Liberty triptych, which shows our Christ figure risen from death, glowing, and covered in butterflies, symbol of resurrection.

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In Liberty II, the man extends his arms at a roughly forty-five-degree angle from his trunk, palms upward, in a beatific gesture. His eyes are closed as he bathes in light. Christ is often shown in this pose in art of the resurrection, emerging triumphant from his tomb and proudly revealing his transfigured wounds. Dingwall’s image, though, is quieter, more interior.

Andrea Mantegna (Italian, ca. 1431–1506), Christ as the Suffering Redeemer, ca. 1495–1500. Tempera on wood, 30.7 × 18.8 in. (78 × 48 cm). National Gallery of Denmark (Statens Museum for Kunst), Copenhagen. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kristus_som_den_lidende_frelser.jpg

Ambrogio Bergognone (Italian, ca. 1470–1523/24), Resurrected Christ, ca. 1491. Fresco, Basilica di Sant’ Ambrogio, Milan. https://www.flickr.com/photos/dianeworland/49461785913/

William Blake (British, 1757–1827), Christ Appearing to the Apostles after the Resurrection, 1795–1805. Watercolor, pen, and black ink on wove paper, 17 × 22 1/2 in. (43.2 × 57.1 cm). Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, Connecticut, USA. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_Blake_-_Christ_Appearing_to_the_Apostles_after_the_Resurrection_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Fenwick Lawson (British, 1932–), Risen Christ, 1983. Saint Oswald Parish Church, South Shields, England. http://www.fenwicklawson.co.uk/risen.html

Natalya Rusetska (Ukrainian, 1984–), Resurrection, 2013. Egg tempera on gessoed wood board, 20 × 16 cm. https://nowaikona.pl/en/dzielo/zmartwychwstanie-3/

Liberty I is reminiscent of Jesus inviting Thomas to see and touch his wounds, and especially of Bramantino’s The Risen Christ (see tiled gallery below). People have long marveled at the incredible luminosity of Christ in the latter painting—how the light seems to come from within (the setting is nighttime, as the moon in the background indicates).

Bramantino (Bartolomeo Suardi) (Italian, ca. 1456–ca. 1530), The Risen Christ, ca. 1490. Mixed media on panel, 109 × 73 cm. Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. https://www.museothyssen.org/en/collection/artists/bramantino/risen-christ

The Incredulity of St. Thomas, 6th century, mosaic, Sant’Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy

Guercino (Giovanni Francesco Barbieri) (Italian, 1591–1666), The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1621. Oil on canvas, 45 1/2 × 56 1/8 in. (115.6 × 142.5 cm). National Gallery, London. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/guercino-the-incredulity-of-saint-thomas

Lo Spadarino (Giovanni Antonio Galli) (Italian, 1585–1652), Christ Displaying His Wounds, 1625–35. Oil on canvas, 52 × 39 in. (132.1 × 99 cm). Perth Museum and Art Gallery, Scotland. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cristo_mostra_le_ferite_-_Spadarino.jpg

So in many ways these photographs by Dingwall are continuous with Christian art history, but they are also open enough to be read in a multitude of other ways or applied to different contexts. Though the nature of Jesus’s resurrection and what it accomplished are, Christians believe, unique in history, stories of death and rebirth are universal, traversing all cultures and religious traditions.

View additional photos from the Albus series at https://www.justindingwall.com/albus.