Page 26 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 13
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2.  Victims  of  child  abuse  and  ex-
                                                                           ploitation
                                                                           3.  Victims  of  natural  calamities
                                                                           (flood, tsunami, earthquake)
                                                                           4. Victims of war and conflict
                                                                           5. Victims of famine and sickness
                                                                           6.  Modern-day  saints  and  heroes
                                                                           (John Paul II, Mother Teresa, et al.)

                                                                           The  installation  finds  its  origin  in
                                                                           the  devotional  practice  of  faith-
                                                                           ful  Catholics  to  remember  their
                                                                           departed  loved  ones,  which  takes
                                                                           place on November 2 on the feast
                                                                           of All Souls Day. As Catholic belie-
                                                                           vers we believe in the communion
                                                                           of  the  living  and  the  dead,  which
                                                                           means that we pray for each other.
                                                                           For me as a Jesuit priest it indicates
                                                                           that I offer the mass to God as an
                                                                           act of devotion and prayer for both
                                                                           the living and the dead. For me as
                                                               an  artist  the  installation  provided  a  venue  to
             Jason Dy (Philippines)                            investigate how this form of art interacts with
             In Loving Memory                                  a Christian devotional practice. It also probed
                                                               into the potential of employing art in ministry,
                                                               whereby art does not only display a beautiful
                                                               form but also becomes an image that opens a
             A key part of this installation are empty bott-   window  for  spiritual  encounter  and  enrich-
             les  that  could  be  filled  by  the  visitors  of  the   ment. I hope the bottled memories will provide
             Arte+Faith  exhibition  at  the  Catholic  World   people with an opportunity for catharsis, a ve-
             Youth  Days  in  Madrid  (15-21  August,  2011)   nue for reliving memories and for keeping the
             with memories of their beloved dead using any     legacy of the dead alive.
             mementos they have brought with them. Paper
             and pen are provided to fill in: In loving memo-  May we all be comforted by the words of the
             ry of _____________.                              Irish  funeral  prayer  ‘Longing  for  One  More
                                                               Day’: ‘When we lose someone we love it seems
             Next to these bottles stand cast polyresin statues   that time stands still. What moves through us
             of angels molded from an old and worn-out sta-    is a silence... a quiet sadness... a longing for one
             tue  of  an  angel  with  broken  wings  I  salvaged   more day... one more word... one more touch.
             from a demolished cemetery in the Philippines.    We may not understand why you left this earth
             Afterwards it was turned into a housing com-      so soon or why you left before we were ready
             plex for the poor near our parish. Each statue    to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to
             will be covered with envelopes with intentions    remember not just that you died, but that you
             for the dead.                                     lived. And that your life gave us memories too
                                                               beautiful to forget. We will see you again some
             On a shelf on the wall I have put several bottles   day, in a heavenly place where there is no par-
             in loving memory of these following groups:       ting.  A  place  where  there  are  no  words  that
             1. Those unknown to human beings but known        mean good-bye.’
             to God

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