Transexual Explores Spirituality through Art

"Embark" by Johnston Newfield

A CANADIAN RELIGIOUS ART STORY that I read and re-read several times this week, was about a religious artwork by Johnston Newfield, a Transsexual. The rejected work was reviewed by the judges for an art festival led by students at Concordia University. As you can see from the posted image above, the work is both beautiful and powerful, but perhaps the work or the artist was also too controversial. According to The Link, "The multi-media piece incorporates installation, looped sound and projection of drawings and symbols—including the Merkaba, a icon commonly recognized as akin to the Star of David, but predates its use in Judaism as a “divine light vehicle” to unite with higher realms of existence." In his artist statement, Newfield wrote, "This piece is about me coming out as being Trans and how being Trans has inspired a search for re-imagining spirituality—specifically that gender is a spiritual experience.” This is my first engagement with a Transexual's exploration of religious art but I'll keep following Newfield to see where that exploration leads.