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Description
"Hindu Jesus"
K. O'Connell
chalk pastels, watercolor pastels, & colored pencils
8.5" by 11"

This is a Hindu reinterpretation of Jesus and His resurrection! He has five arms to represent openness and equality towards each of the four castes of India and the untouchables, as Christianity does not promote a dharmaic hierarchy. There are three circles represent unity, eternity, and the trinity.

Edit (August 3, 2008):
Hi- this is Krista, the creator of this piece. I realize that this piece has gotten some attention on the internet so I'm going to clarify some things here and on deviantART (where I originally posted it- I never imagined people actually looked at that, haha).

First off, I am currently a high school student. I created this as part of an art class in school. My theme for the year was "reinterpreting religion." I come from a very traditional Christian family, and Christian themes are very strong in my work. Though I embrace a lot of the values behind Christianity, I would not say that I am a traditional Christian. I have high respect and tolerance for other religions, and I don't believe that Christianity has a monopoly on truth.

With that said, this piece is meant to connect aspects of different religions in a "we are all brothers" way. I purposely made Jesus with dark skin (he was Middle Eastern) and even made Him without a face as a reference to Muslim art, where Mohammed's face is never drawn. I explained the rest in the original description. I'm not trying to say that any religion is better than another, but I obviously have a closer connection to Christianity because that's where my roots are. I'm still learning and questioning and forming my beliefs, but this is where I stand right now.

I realize the phrase "dharmaic hierarchy" sounds rather condescending. It is not an insult to the Hindu religion, but rather to class-based discrimination. The situation of Untouchables in India really bothers me.

Also, in regards to the art: this is not one of my prouder pieces. It was my first time using pastels in years and I admit that the quality of the drawing is terrible. However, this piece was centered on meaning and not artistic quality.

[link]

Description
"Hindu Jesus"
K. O'Connell
chalk pastels, watercolor pastels, & colored pencils
8.5" by 11"

This is a Hindu reinterpretation of Jesus and His resurrection! He has five arms to represent openness and equality towards each of the four castes of India and the untouchables, as Christianity does not promote a dharmaic hierarchy. There are three circles represent unity, eternity, and the trinity.

Edit (August 3, 2008):
Hi- this is Krista, the creator of this piece. I realize that this piece has gotten some attention on the internet so I'm going to clarify some things here and on deviantART (where I originally posted it- I never imagined people actually looked at that, haha).

First off, I am currently a high school student. I created this as part of an art class in school. My theme for the year was "reinterpreting religion." I come from a very traditional Christian family, and Christian themes are very strong in my work. Though I embrace a lot of the values behind Christianity, I would not say that I am a traditional Christian. I have high respect and tolerance for other religions, and I don't believe that Christianity has a monopoly on truth.

With that said, this piece is meant to connect aspects of different religions in a "we are all brothers" way. I purposely made Jesus with dark skin (he was Middle Eastern) and even made Him without a face as a reference to Muslim art, where Mohammed's face is never drawn. I explained the rest in the original description. I'm not trying to say that any religion is better than another, but I obviously have a closer connection to Christianity because that's where my roots are. I'm still learning and questioning and forming my beliefs, but this is where I stand right now.

I realize the phrase "dharmaic hierarchy" sounds rather condescending. It is not an insult to the Hindu religion, but rather to class-based discrimination. The situation of Untouchables in India really bothers me.

Also, in regards to the art: this is not one of my prouder pieces. It was my first time using pastels in years and I admit that the quality of the drawing is terrible. However, this piece was centered on meaning and not artistic quality.

[link]