The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations.
Revelation 22:2b CSV
This artwork was featured as the August piece for my 2024 Art calendar. Today, I want to reveal some hidden messages behind this artwork and share what materials I used to complete this artwork (not just canvas and acrylic paint but something else…)
I used EGGSHELLS! (Yes, you can imagine how many eggs I had to eat to complete each piece of artwork using eggshells..just kidding!)
To me, eggshells symbolize what is “not useful”,
“broken”, “waste”, “temporary” (because they decay overtime). This reminds me of how we sometimes feel- useless, painfully aware of our brokenness, or realizing the harm we’ve caused others and God by sinning against them. At times, we might feel like “waste” when we struggle to find our own value.And “temporary,” because we cannot escape the reality of death.
Yet there is the Savior who took all our sins, world’s mess, brokenness upon Himself and gave LIFE into it- none other than Jesus. Who can do that but Jesus, who lives eternally, who is powerful, and who has defeated death?
So I take eggshells and cover the entire canvas like this. Believe it or not, this process takes several months and requires ridiculous amount of patience. As I work, I am reminded of the world’s brokenness, our own brokenness, how we have hurt and sinned against not just others around us but God Himself. At the same time, I reflect on how God has taken all of this and redeemed it through His precious blood. Nothing but Christ can wash away our sin or heal our brokenness and wounds.
Revelation 22:2 Project
Since 2022, I started this project called “Revelation 22:2 Project” - one artwork per nation. Because creating artwork using eggshells takes so Long, it’s the perfect opportunity to intercede for the nation as I crack the eggs and glue each piece onto the canvas, one broken piece at a time. It is truly fascinating how much God emphasizes “nations” throughout Scripture. He loves each nation and desires to save them all. Yet, there is no nation without sin, all nations are in need of redemption.
controversial topic: nation
The topic of “nation” can often be difficult to discuss due to the assumptions we carry, the strong messages implanted in us through media or educational biases, or the impressions formed from a particular person we met from a specific nation.
As someone who has lived as a ‘foreigner’ for most of my life, I’ve experienced this tension first hand. I moved to Canada when I was nine, and a Korean classmate once told me, “I don’t like Japanese because they killed my grandparents”. This statement forced me to confront a sin I felt had nothing to do with me personally, but it also got me thinking deeply about the concept of ‘nation’ and how it affects us today.
One of the biggest decisions I made was to move to China, where I spent seven years. Knowing the history between China and Japan, I expected to encounter many angry people who harbored resentment toward the Japanese. But in reality, I received more love than hatred from people of China. For many, I was the first Japanese person they ever met, and they remarked that I looked more like then than the stereotypical image of Japanese people portrayed by anti-Japanese media. By His grace, some even came to know Christ, experiencing reconciliation that only He can bring.
Now, when I think of China, I think of the people I actually know and the friendships I built, rather than the image portrayed by the media. I think of shared meals, the joys, the struggles we experienced together- things that connect us as individuals.
In the end, a “nation” consists of many individual lives, each experiencing joy, suffering, and everything in between, just as we do. It is undeniable reality that there is a corrupt leaders and systems within the nation but they are not the only one who represents that specific nation. May we see the ‘faces of individual’ within the nations, recognizing that they are more similar to us than we might think. We have more in common than we realize, because we are all in need of Christ, His healing, His forgiveness, and His redemption.
As I completed this artwork, I was thinking of Ukraine. Unfortunately I don’t know anyone from that nation, but I wanted to make this artwork ever since the war started. I have heard it is a beautiful nation, known for its sunflowers that shine brightest under a vast blue sky. May God bless Ukraine and people there.
Thanks for reading!
Keiko Iris Yamada
Comments