Psalm 11

ARTIST STATEMENT:





Psalm 11 opens up to David who has just been threatened with
death by King Saul’s forces,


wrestling with what I imagine to be his own amygdala telling him
to “flee like a bird to your


mountain”. God designed our bodies to shift quickly to fight,
flight or freeze when faced with


an immediate, physical threat as a protective measure. We can
think of many previous


examples of David running to the caves for shelter, and doing so
saved his life! But today,


David sees no reason to run. Why not this time? As a youth, David
spent a lot of time in


isolation tending to sheep. I imagine he cultivated a practice of
taking refuge in his only


Companion. So now, perhaps David was able to stop the automatic,
fear-based response and


think. He realized that to flee might mean to forsake his calling
as the next king. He then


engaged in the kind of nonviolent resistance that Jesus Himself
would model later for us.


I see a powerful example of this kind of faithful resistance
among Christians in Gaza right now


amid severe threats to their existence. They have coexisted with
Muslims and Jews on the


land for centuries. When they were encouraged to flee, they saw
Israel’s indiscriminate


bombing, and also knew that to leave might forfeit their chance
of return*, so most decided


to take shelter together in the two remaining churches in the
Gaza Strip. They have been


slowly succumbing to starvation, sickness, and snipers**. They
are terrified, but they are


refusing to leave just because someone is holding up a Bible
claiming it says someone else


deserves the keys to their house.


I chose to style my artwork after street protest art because it
is art for the people. It shows up


anytime an injustice is being confronted and people are
organizing for change. I was inspired


by a trip we took last summer to Belfast and toured the murals
that documented the


Troubles, as well as many artists on Instagram who are addressing
the struggle for Palestinian


liberation. I will speak to a few of the key elements of my piece
and hope it invites you into


further exploration, both of the art as well as the people of
Palestine.


Red poppies grow wild all over Palestine. In fact, it is widely
believed that this is the flower


that Jesus referred to when he invited us to “consider the
lilies”. I’ve chosen to represent the


people of this land as the lilies and try to convey their
steadfast resilience amidst much


hardship.


Bulldozers: throughout the history of Israeli occupation, they
have been used to destroy entire


villages and displace thousands of Palestinians. I encourage you
to read the story of Rachel


Corrie.


The dove represents the beautiful nonviolent resistance that was
first modeled and taught by


Jesus, about turning the other cheek. Jesus was not advocating
for passivity, but was


teaching us about the art of protest here. Instead of fleeing in
fear, the dove is throwing open


her feathered arms, as if to say, “You can kill me, but you must
first see me.” This cry for the


oppressor to recognize the imago dei in the oppressed is
ultimately an act of love for the


oppressor, too.


*https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/05/15/75-years-later-israel-blocking-palestinian-refugees-return


**https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/16/middleeast/idf-sniper-gaza-church-deaths-intl-hnk/index.html