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Faces of Christ


Lion Hudson, 2011
RRP $24.99

Reviewed by Karyl Davison. 

SO AN internet search on Jesus and you will find a huge number and array of images of Jesus, from ancient mosaics through to contemporary images such as the Simpson’s Jesus.

Indeed, Jesus is one of the most often portrayed figures of all time.

But what can all these images tell us about Jesus of Nazareth, and the Jesus of faith?

Faces of Christ uses the medium of art to explore Jesus’ life. It includes images portraying different aspects of Jesus life and ministry such as Jesus as shepherd, Jesus feeding the multitude, and of course, Jesus on the cross.

Some are well known, while others are less well known but in each the artist attempts to answer the question “Who is Jesus Christ?”.

Through the fairly traditional rendering of the story in the accompanying text, Ms Williams uses the various portrayals of Jesus to investigate his life and character.

One disappointment is that the vast majority of the images used date from much earlier centuries. There are two images from the twentieth century but none from the last 60 years.

Such contemporary images would do much to help us reflect on who Jesus is for our time.