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The Tree of Life
I am interested in the great resonance within the Bible – in the way different stories reference each other. In Genesis there are two trees named the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil“ and the “Tree of Life.” Under the first tree stood the woman, Eve. In the Tree was the tempter – the source of our trouble. The second tree was the Tree of Life, and if you ate its fruit, you would life forever. Flash forward many years to Calvary: where the second Adam, the source of life, is nailed to the tree while the second Eve stands beneath it. There was the Genesis story more fully understood; there was the cross transformed by Christ's sacrifice into the Tree of Life; and if we eat it's fruit we will surely live forever.
In my sculpture the Tree of Life is united with the Cross; and though what is depicted is not literally true, I hope it never-the-less communicates a truth about Genesis and Calvary. You will see the nails are very long and branch-like. God must struggle to stay on the Cross. Beside this tree is a little fig tree growing, my symbol for Mary
Installation at Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, Charleston, West Virginia. Bronze, 100 inches in height.
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