SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

Furthermore, the well-filled table portrays other moments and symbols: - we could assume that it is Judas reaching over to touch the bread from Our Lord’s hand (John 13:26). - a disproportionally large fish lays across the table - evokes several possible symbolic interpretations - the acrostic of the Greek word for “fish”- ICTHUS- also meaning I ESOUS CH RISTOS TH EO HU IS S OTER (Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour); or - the ancient Christian emblem and later a symbol of the Eucharist; or - the interpretation of Church Fathers of the Parable of the Feeding of the Five Thousand (John 21:1-14) explaining he “limited body” of Christ as also being “unlimited” in the ecclesiastical miracle that is repeated time and time again and across the world during the celebration of the Eucharist. Still taking us even further back historically, Cerebus, the three headed dog, who according to Byzantine and Roman mythology guarded the underworld, is sitting besides who we would assume to be Judas. Interestingly the 12 disciples do not have halos and neither does Our Lord. The features of the disciples could be any “ordinary” person from the Middle East or Africa each with different ethnic features. Even without the halo, Our Lord’s presence at the table distinctly glows. We find a similarity of t is theme of diverse ethnic representations and “ordinary” people in the other paintings as well. Quite apart its artistic beauty or perhaps because if its beauty, the painting which draws a great many thoughts and possible interpretation is the one titled “The Great Catch” for which Ms Nakhla won international silver and gold medals. Some of the reflections on this painting suggest that - The people around the net could be the “fishers of men” (Matthews 4:19);

- Early Christians used to call new converts “little fishes” - reference to the fish in the net; - Could the net be interpreted as The Church? The different coloured fish could be Christians of different ethnicities as members of the Church? The depiction of the different expressions of attentiveness of the fish could be a reflection of believers to the word of God not all being at the same level of readiness to follow?; - The yellow ocre/gold background (instead of a blue sky) could be the iconographic symbol of the Light of God and furthermore one could explain the bird(s) as the early Coptic symbol of the winged soul. The bird with a fish in its beak could at the same time symbolise the bird with the body flying into eternity. Taking this interpretation further one could suggest that the image of the bird as rooted in the ancient Egyptian mythology of the Ba bird with a human head that represented the soul or the vital principle of human beings. Our more “realistic” viewers also feel that, as an Alexandrine, Ms Nakhla was depicting the birds as sea gulls and as “evil” beings that swarm around the catch to grab the fish from the fishermen! A truly didactic exchange can occur in group discussions! - still others are asking questions about the symbolism of the seven fishermen with Our Lord and the five birds? The painting of “Judas” hanging himself is a stark difference to the other paintings in that there is nothing beautiful about it. However, Ms. Nakhla is “documenting” the Biblical reference that Judas hung himself when he realised what he had done when he betrayed Our Lord. (Mt 27:3 and Acts 1: 18-29) As one can imagine that the posing the question “what is the commentary she is making in this rather grotesque painting?” draws a range of responses from viewers. In brief, the themes of Ms. Nakhla’s folkloric paintings are religious. Through her art, Ms

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

13