hans diebschlag
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Plagues
(2002-2003)
Hans Diebschlag's Thoughts and Ideas relating to the Ten Biblical Plagues
Background
I had the idea for the series of the ten plagues when I saw pictures and heard reports of the floods in Northern Germany in 2002 and had the thought that the plagues could be repeating themselves. I started to speculate on the allegorical significance of the ten plagues. I could not believe that this epic was intended to show that the single God of the Hebrews was more powerful then all the gods the Egyptians could muster. I was even more intrigued by the idea that God would wish to close the heart of the pharaoh. Was this really so that he could release yet another plague onto the people of Egypt and show his awesome power?
I suspected that the authorship of the plagues was assigned to God so that the Hebrews felt safe to leave Egypt. On the other hand, I thought this might also have provided a way of explaining the natural catastrophes that had occurred.
An early theory of some Bible historians was that the yearly flooding of the Nile was especially high at that time. This had the effect of bringing a huge amount of red clay down from the upper reaches of the Nile, which would explain why the water appeared to be the colour of blood and was undrinkable. When the floods receded, frogs, mosquitoes and horseflies could breed easily in the mud. If cattle stand too long in water they can become diseased, and people suffer too from damp conditions. Hail and locusts are always a part of life on the Nile and such events had always been regarded with great awe.
The newest theory seems to be that during the flooding of the Nile the volcano of Santorini in the Mediterranean underwent a major eruption. Its flood wave pushed seawater up the Nile and into the lowlands which could explain the story of the “parted sea”. The ashes covered the sun and so caused the total darkness.
Nonetheless, the deaths of the firstborn cannot be easily explained, especially as they also included every firstborn domesticated animal.
Then, of course, there was Moses himself, the great politician and leader who weaved the ten incidents together and led his people out of slavery. The number ten is significant in many ways but it shows that all ten plagues are held together by one thought that connects all, and that is: “How do I free myself?”
This brings us to the most interesting part of the story, the underlying meaning. What can we learn from these plagues? Instead of the punishing patriarch, I started with the concept of the loving God who will manoeuvre us into situations that give us a deeper understanding of what life is about and change our thinking. It is as though we are being brought to the realisation that we have enslaved ourselves by inflated self esteem, short-sightedness and, above all, profiteering. But all too often we do not see this and blame it all on “God”.
The Paintings
This series expresses an idea that I have been exploring for some years now, that of “the spirit in a landscape”. In short, it is about the feeling that one gets a message while looking at a landscape. Although we understand it unconsciously, we may only become fully aware of the message when exposed to extreme situations. It is often said that “It could have only happened here”. In this way I have looked for a landscape that would fit the plague. I have painted the actual plague like a wallpaper pattern or curtain, just like the feeling of continuous media exposure. The plague is not really part of the landscape but a short lived manifestation. I have not covered by far all plagues that surround us but here is a good selection.
The pictures are painted in tempera/oil glazes. Most of the backgrounds are based on photos that I took myself.
Publications
A catalogue of this series was published for the Barlin exhibition of the series. Copies may still be available.
Relating to this series is a speech by Prof. Dr. Theodor Schneider, Prof. of Dogmatic and Ecumenical Theology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, given at the opening of the exhibition at Farbraum Art Gallery, Darmstadt, Germany.
(2002-2003)
Hans Diebschlag's Thoughts and Ideas relating to the Ten Biblical Plagues
Background
I had the idea for the series of the ten plagues when I saw pictures and heard reports of the floods in Northern Germany in 2002 and had the thought that the plagues could be repeating themselves. I started to speculate on the allegorical significance of the ten plagues. I could not believe that this epic was intended to show that the single God of the Hebrews was more powerful then all the gods the Egyptians could muster. I was even more intrigued by the idea that God would wish to close the heart of the pharaoh. Was this really so that he could release yet another plague onto the people of Egypt and show his awesome power?
I suspected that the authorship of the plagues was assigned to God so that the Hebrews felt safe to leave Egypt. On the other hand, I thought this might also have provided a way of explaining the natural catastrophes that had occurred.
An early theory of some Bible historians was that the yearly flooding of the Nile was especially high at that time. This had the effect of bringing a huge amount of red clay down from the upper reaches of the Nile, which would explain why the water appeared to be the colour of blood and was undrinkable. When the floods receded, frogs, mosquitoes and horseflies could breed easily in the mud. If cattle stand too long in water they can become diseased, and people suffer too from damp conditions. Hail and locusts are always a part of life on the Nile and such events had always been regarded with great awe.
The newest theory seems to be that during the flooding of the Nile the volcano of Santorini in the Mediterranean underwent a major eruption. Its flood wave pushed seawater up the Nile and into the lowlands which could explain the story of the “parted sea”. The ashes covered the sun and so caused the total darkness.
Nonetheless, the deaths of the firstborn cannot be easily explained, especially as they also included every firstborn domesticated animal.
Then, of course, there was Moses himself, the great politician and leader who weaved the ten incidents together and led his people out of slavery. The number ten is significant in many ways but it shows that all ten plagues are held together by one thought that connects all, and that is: “How do I free myself?”
This brings us to the most interesting part of the story, the underlying meaning. What can we learn from these plagues? Instead of the punishing patriarch, I started with the concept of the loving God who will manoeuvre us into situations that give us a deeper understanding of what life is about and change our thinking. It is as though we are being brought to the realisation that we have enslaved ourselves by inflated self esteem, short-sightedness and, above all, profiteering. But all too often we do not see this and blame it all on “God”.
The Paintings
This series expresses an idea that I have been exploring for some years now, that of “the spirit in a landscape”. In short, it is about the feeling that one gets a message while looking at a landscape. Although we understand it unconsciously, we may only become fully aware of the message when exposed to extreme situations. It is often said that “It could have only happened here”. In this way I have looked for a landscape that would fit the plague. I have painted the actual plague like a wallpaper pattern or curtain, just like the feeling of continuous media exposure. The plague is not really part of the landscape but a short lived manifestation. I have not covered by far all plagues that surround us but here is a good selection.
The pictures are painted in tempera/oil glazes. Most of the backgrounds are based on photos that I took myself.
Publications
A catalogue of this series was published for the Barlin exhibition of the series. Copies may still be available.
Relating to this series is a speech by Prof. Dr. Theodor Schneider, Prof. of Dogmatic and Ecumenical Theology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, given at the opening of the exhibition at Farbraum Art Gallery, Darmstadt, Germany.
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