The Already and Not yet

About "The Already and Not Yet"

Whenever we read these verses, we immediately refer to its fulfillment in Jesus that has happened hundreds of years after the “days of Ahaz”. It is the greatest event in history where God finally dwelt among men. As I reread and reflect on this story, I am simply brought to that very moment when Isaiah was speaking to Ahaz, a king who refuses to put his faith in God. I am brought to that time when the prophecy about Immanuel was not yet fulfilled. A time where unrighteousness seemingly prevailed yet an underserved gift was still proclaimed.

Many artists are drawn to abstraction for many reasons, as for me I am drawn to it with a passionate desire to see things differently. To see the move of God in history. To see God’s poetry in creation… And this work is my poetry on paper.

The movement and traces of the ink on sculptured paper may be labeled as an abstraction but it imitates a movement to a series of events that were already fulfilled and yet to be fulfilled. And all of these seem only like a reflection on the water!

Isaiah invites King Ahaz, despite being ungodly, to ask from the Lord your God. Now that we live in this time in history many years after the coming of Jesus, my work humbly invites you to reflect and keep on asking from the Lord your God as you move through the chronos and the kairos.

Immanuel is the sign already given to us thousands of years ago. We carry and announce this same sign until today, and along the way, God continues to communicate in different ways, signs, and wonders to us.

Sign is from the Greek word “ôth”, which means - a distinguishing mark, banner, remembrance, miraculous sign, or warning.

In my work, I use ink that moves freely in water instead of only being controlled by the brush. The moving ink gives unpredictable patterns and textures as it dries. I then sculpt the whole paper to enhance these patterns and textures, which expresses the desire for liberation. This desire is a humble request; an invitation to bring along others to freedom – to join the movement of God’s people. As we move we carry a distinguishing mark (sign - Immanuel) and a unique ink print in our little chapter in history. By the grace of Heaven’s hands, may we be very discerning to navigate in this temporary world. There is a divine drama where all creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the already and not yet.