A revisiting of the Passion of the Christ

A month-long exhibition in old Goa features exhibits that explore several moments iconic to the telling of Jesus' adult life.

April marks Easter and what better way to celebrate the festival than with a month-long exhibition that commemorates the Passion of Christ’s life? Engraved Treasures-Part II: Contemporary Responses to 18th Century Prints from the MoCA Collection at the Museum of Christian Art in Old Goa explores several sacred moments that are iconic to the telling of Jesus’ adult life — the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus, the Last Supper, his death and Resurrection. Curated by art historian Lina Vincent, the exhibition, which features artworks by nine artists based in Goa, will run all through April.

The exhibition comes together as a second edition of contemporary responses to the beautiful engravings from the 18th Century Duhamel Bible in the museum’s collection. “One of the reasons for the exhibition has been to revitalise the way museum objects are looked at and to create the possibility of reinterpretations in current times,” said Lina Vincent. While Part 1 had a majority of printmaking and photography exhibits, Part 2 showcases a large number of paintings, with an additional focus on performance. Artists such as Nishant Saldanha and Sandesh Naik have related their responses to the engravings to socio-cultural and political commentaries growing out of their personal experiences. Furthermore, master printmakers Vijay Bhandare, Swapnesh Naik and Leticia Alvares, have related deeply both to the narratives in the Bible as well as the ancient techniques utilised in image making.

Nishant Saldanha’s artwork ‘Paper Chapel’ is inspired by the syncretic religious traditions and festivals of Goa, the bright cut-outs of Henri Matisse, and the Paper Ganesha of the Mhamai Kamats. Its 14 images represent key points in the journey of Jesus Christ, from condemnation to crucifixion and burial. Sonia Rodrigues Sabharwal’s works celebrate the miracles of Christ — the marriage at Cana when water was turned into wine as well as the incredible moment when multitudes were fed by the simple act of sharing five loaves and two fishes. Art conservator Sandesh Naik has been restoring old Goan paintings and statues for the last eight years. His acrylic work ‘Resurrection’ using gold leaf, thread, dust particle mites, old natural varnish and a 150-year-old wooden frame on canvas, is in the Renaissance style. The culture, politics and people of Goa are his primary sources of inspiration. “I see this as a resurrection of the awareness to protect and conserve what we have,” Naik explains.Printmaker Vijay Bhandare chose to base his work on the later stage of Christ’s life. His etching ‘St Victoria’s Veil’ is based on the 6th station of the cross where St Veronica, moved with sympathy by the sight of Jesus carrying the cross to Calvary, gave Jesus her veil to wipe his face.

Inspired by the baroque period paintings, his etching print ‘In the Tomb’ shows a view of the tomb where the holy mortal of Christ was laid to rest after the crucifixion. Bhandare says that he was inspired by the image of the stretcher with a dead person on it. “I could see the feet of the departed person clearly even though the body was neatly covered in a shroud. That’s when I expressed the scene to portray Jesus using the intaglio technique,” he says. Another baroque-inspired work of his, ‘Descent from the Cross’, portrays a tense situation at Calvary when Christ’s body was lowered from the cross and carried to the tomb by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus over their shoulder with a mysterious divine light guiding their path.

Audiences at the exhibition can also look forward to a series of performances that will bring alive different stories from the engravings — from an acoustic sound piece that explores the scientific quality of sound within the sacred architectural space by Divesh Gadekar to a complimentary experimental collaboration by spoken word poet Pragya Bhagat .