Nothing Dangerous About the Man

Centuries ago, Religion and Art were fully integrated and biblical themes and religious iconography were viewed as the highest form of expression. As society became more modern and secular, Art and Religion moved further apart. 

More contemporary artists are now engaging with religious topics, not to create a work that is venerated in a museum or gallery but to express their own search for spirituality. This describes Geraldine Javier's exploration of religion in her art. Her series of paintings on religious icons and inanimate objects in 2006 seem to stem more from a state of doubt rather than belief. By focusing on these ubiquitous objects and images, the artist examines the continued relevance and meaning of such symbols in contemporary life.

In Nothing Dangerous About the Man, (2006), Javier paints the famous miracle,  Jesus walks on water. Unlike the gilded iconography of Orthodox Christianity, Javier's version of Jesus Christ is stripped of all colour. The life-like image of Jesus stands in the foreground as rippling water glistens behind him. The exposed heart  in his chest and the hole left by an amputated hand are clues that this is a Christ of an inanimate kind. Is its current state of disrepair perhaps due to a recent fall or perhaps merely proof of its value as an antique?

The title of the work alludes to the historical fact that Jesus was seen as a rabble-rouser by Roman officials and Jewish High Priests in Jerusalem. His ability to stir up the masses and his over-turning of money-changing tables at the temple branded him as dangerous. In contrast, the plaster statue in Javier's painting bears little resemblance to the image of Jesus, which leads us to question whether inanimate objects can truly reflect the deeper mysteries of faith or the true face of the Divine.