Interviews
The Person of Grace
In this interview entitled “The Person of Grace,” conducted at the artist’s studio in New York, Nya′ revelatory discusses his use of keenly selected materials charged with biblical imagery and metaphors to depict, allude to and portray the incorruptible, unyielding and unwavering power of a blood covenant between humanity and divinity in his work, “Tablet of Prosperity.”
Tablet of Prosperity
INTERVIEWER:
Nya’- I know that every painting you create begins with you receiving a Word. Therefore, before we dwell on your intention and use of materials, please briefly explain the “word” which inspired “Tablet of Prosperity.”
NYA′:
The primary word that inspired “Tablet of Prosperity” was “covenant.” In essence, God’s irrevocable, immutable, imperishable and absolutely unchangeable covenant with Mankind which He personally initiated and established through the perfect, unblemished and utterly irreproachable blood of His precious and dearly beloved Son, Jesus.
INTERVIEWER:
How long had you been meditating on the word before you commenced with the work?
NYA′:
I was pregnant with the word “covenant” from the day I began to revelatory comprehend that the Bible is not a religious book, but rather an irrevocable and unalterable constitutional document bearing the will and intent of the Creator and King of the Universe. And unlike Man-made constitutions, which are subject to change to suit the times or in some cases, fulfill political ambitions and extractive governments’ agendas, God’s constitution is sealed with His own blood, and therefore, immune to corruption, alteration and carnal interpretation.
INTERVIEWER:
How long did you carry the revelation before you began creating the work?
NYA′:
It will be difficult for me to allocate a precise time. However, it suffices to say, from the time I was 10 years old, when I moved to the city to live with my mother, she would read the Scriptures to my sister and me every day before dinner, the initial seed was planted. In fact, the great Shumba kana kutiMuzvare Mukuru (my mother) saw the Bible as, “the incorruptible seed.”
INTERVIEWER:
In your painting journal and biography, you also mentioned that your mother referred to the Bible as “Love Letters written and sealed with a blood covenant”
NYA′:
Yes. In “Eternal Letters to My Beloved,” I partially unveil some of the letters from the Bible the great Shumba would read to me, and narrate how every letter guided, directed, strengthened and inspired me to live a purpose-driven, faith-anchored and vision-fueled life.
However, as much as my mother crucially planted the initial seed of understanding “The New Covenant,” it was only through revelation by The Holy Spirit, granted by Grace and birthed through personal meditation, constant seeking and prayer that I began to fathom our Father’s steadfast, immutable and immeasurable Love and how He established it with the blood of His only begotten son, Jesus.
Eternal Letters to my Beloved
INTERVIEWER:
How did you portray the power of this ‘New Covenant’ in “Tablet of Prosperity?”
NYA′:
Essentially, I expressed God’s New Covenant with Mankind through the rich, singular, understated and yet keenly applied streak of crimson ink cascading from the roof of the painting towards the right side of the picture plane.
INTERVIEWER:
What was your intention for portraying ‘The New Covenant’ using crimson ink and a single broken line?
NYA′:
Firstly, the ink I used to create the line was comprised with pigments mixed with the blood of a lamb, an allusion to Jesus, who is the Lamb that was slain for the redemption of the entire human race. Additionally, the line does not have a designated beginning, an allusion to the fact that the New Covenant in Jesus' blood was not initiated when Mankind declared independence from his Creator, but rather, our Omnipresent and Loving Father had already foreseen his children’s demise and therefore prepared The Covenant meal beforehand.
Secondly, by positioning the crimson line on the right side of the painting, my intention was to portray Jesus' relationship with God. Historically, when a king seated someone on his right side, it meant that while the person on the right submitted to the authority of the king, he was equal to the king in power and authority and was to be accorded the same honor. Therefore, while Jesus is God and equal to the Father, He submitted to the Father. But because He is God, He has the same authority, honor and power as the Father.
The word of light
INTERVIEWER:
So, Jesus is ‘The New Covenant?’
NYA′:
At the core, The New Covenant is Jesus Christ. He embodies everything that The New Covenant is. Jesus is The Word, The Message, The Idea, The Person, The Meaning, The Mind and The Glory of God expressed in flesh. He is divinity in humanity, God in flesh; as I tried to allude to in the composition through the scroll, the text and various shades of rich gold.
INTERVIEWER:
Before we discuss the text and colors you used in the painting, please finish explaining the intention of the singular line, particularly why it is emerging from the dark and the reason why it is broken?
NYA′:
The singularity of the line represents the wholeness and totality of Jesus. He is God in flesh and in Him, the identity and wholeness of Mankind dwells. In fact, the line is not broken, but rather, it merges into the tapestry of the composition, and when you look closely towards the foot of the painting, underneath the protruding relief, the line reappears, but this time running horizontally across the picture plane and merging with the crimson hues close to my signature.
INTERVIEWER:
I see what you mean, but why is it merging with the rugged landscape of the painting?
NYA′:
The rugged landscape represents Mankind. Therefore, by merging the pure and singular line with the entire rugged picture plane, my intention was two-fold.
First, to depict how Jesus blood was shed to cleanse and cover humanity.
Second, to express the opulence of God’s Love. He left His divine Glory above and came down to live with His creation and endure the shortcomings, limitations and discomforts of a physical body; even though He remained pure and blameless, as I represented by the gold working to cover the harsh elements in the composition, for example, the sackcloth, rocks and thistles.
INTERVIEWER:
What does the crimson line rendered horizontally towards the foot of the painting represent?
NYA':
As I mentioned before, The Covenant was established long before Mankind transgressed, even before God created the world. Therefore, by rendering the scarlet line at the bottom of the painting, my intention was to represent that The New Covenant in Jesus' blood was established before the foundation and creation of the world, and His blood is also the bedrock, foundation or anchor upon which God’s every Word and promise rests.
INTERVIEWER:
Besides, the horizontal and vertical scarlet lines, are there any other parts where the lamb’s blood appears in the composition?
NYA′:
Yes. At the very base of the painting, close to my signature, and more pronounced at the middle upper register of the composition. In fact, I mixed the lamb’s blood with all the other colors on the picture plane, except for the gold and whitish hues.
INTERVIEWER:
What does the white color in the composition represent?
NYA′:
The shades of dove white on various parts of the composition all allude to Jesus. The scroll represents the foretold Word from the prophets of a coming Messiah who will be slaughtered and through His blood ransom for God saints from every tribe and language and nation.
The shades of white also allude to the power of the lamb’s blood to redeem, cleanse, and completely rid Mankind of sin and restore him to his original position of dominion, authority and power. The white color also represents Jesus as the unblemished, pure and spotless Lamb of God.
The white imbedded scroll, from which the intense light feeding the entire picture is emanating from also represents the free gift of redemption accessible to any Man who accepts Jesus' invitation into His Kingdom of Light.
The ransom paid to redeem mankind
