One of the most vivid and hard to watch scenes in Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ,” was the scourging of Jesus. The movie came out in 2004, and I made this quilt in 2006. When I thought of blood as a motif in Scripture, this very graphic scene came to mind.
At this point I was living in New Zealand and still working in commercial fabrics. I was also just beginning to work exclusively in solid fabrics. For non-quilters, most quilt shops sell fabrics with prints or designs. Solid colors typically are hard to find. I spent a lot of time shopping in many stores to find solid colors to represent the colors of humanity. My choices were rather limited.
“By His Stripes” Isaiah 53:5 2006, 31” w by 27” h
© Pamela Loewen
commercial fabrics, cotton batting, machine quilted
Expressing the violence of the flogging, I cut into the pieced top over and over again. The red lines and jagged quilting depict the scourging of Christ. Underneath these wounds are the colors of humanity.
“By His Stripes” 2006 detail
© Pamela Loewen
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5.
“By His Stripes” 2006 detail back
© Pamela Loewen