My entry for the 2012 Blake Prize, the main prize for art that focuses upon religion and spirituality. My painted work had as its subject the Pillar of Cloud by day, God's presence to the Israelites when leading them out of Egypt and whilst they were in the desert.
"The Lord preceded them, by day in a pillar of cloud to show them the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so they could march by day and by night." Exodus 13:21
"Anyone who wanted to consult the Lord would
go out to the Tent of Meeting, outside the camp. Whenever Moses went
out to the Tent, the people would all stand up and every man would
stand at the door of his tent and watch Moses until
he went into the Tent. And whenever Moses went
into the Tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and station itself at the
entrance to the Tent, while the Lord spoke
with Moses. The people could all
see the pillar of cloud stationed at the entrance to the Tent and the people
would all stand up and bow low, each at the door of his tent.
The Lord would talk to Moses face
to face, as a man talks
to his friend, and afterwards he would come back to the camp, but the young man who
was his servant, Joshua son
of Nun, never left the inside of the Tent." Exodus 33:7-11
The painting, A Pillar of Cloud by day, thus references both God’s powerful guiding presence of the Israelites in the
desert, and God's continued revelation through created beauty (in this case, the beauty evident in the painting).
A Pillar of Cloud by day, 2012
Watercolour and pencil on paper, 140 x 210 cm
