Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer

Emma Kathleen Hepburn Ferrer Instagram – Time to post a new painting. I have been painting “like I’m possessed”, as one of my classmates says of her own work, but not posting anything. This is the logical continuation of my work around religion. This particular painting is a piece about a hospital chapel- a space that I find infinitely fascinating, confusing, curious, spiritual, profound, and absurd. It is, of course, a space where religion and science meet. But it is also a place where one can witness and feel desperation. Peer in on someone else’s relationship with god, and where one might try and initiate a relationship with god- for the first time, last time, in hope, scorn, faith, or in irrefutable enlightenment. It is also a place where one might come to god for the first time, as a first resort, or for the first time in a new way, as a last resort. These spaces are intimate yet shared. I like in this painting the sensation of “peering in” on the person within. Not knowing if one can, or should enter, as one of my tutors says. The sign on the wall at the back reads “Signore, se vuoi, tu puoi, sanarmi.” This translates to a verse from Matthew 8:2 that reads “Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
I find it interesting that the verse reads “sanarmi” – or “make me clean”, not “heal me” or “make me better”. This notion of purification, of actually rendering clean that which is impure, dirty even, as in the case of the leper, is becoming central to my work. What is clean? What is to become whole? Can purity exist with impurity? Is something more pure if it is impure? These are just some more questions driving my work. I could go on and on, as there is so much locked into this painting for me. But for now, this painting is “Cappella Ospedaliera della Cittadella della Salute di Campo di Marte”, or “Hospital Chapel of the Health Citadel of Campo di Marte”.
#painting #oilonjute #oilpainting | Posted on 06/May/2023 11:35:47