Plagues
Background notes by the artist
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 floodwave 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 first born 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.
HD 2003
Publications
A catalogue of this series was published in 2005 to coincide with the exhibition of the series in Berlin. Also 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
Copyright Hans Diebschlag All Rights Reserved
Background notes by the artist
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 floodwave 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 first born 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.
HD 2003
Publications
A catalogue of this series was published in 2005 to coincide with the exhibition of the series in Berlin. Also 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
Copyright Hans Diebschlag All Rights Reserved
The Horseflies (2003) /
Die Hundsfliegen (2003)
Oil and tempera on canvas
117 x 91 cm
Sold
Horseflies lick blood. They cut a wound and then suck the blood of their victim through their trunk. In this picture I make a comparison between the petrol engine and the blood sucker. The comparison occurred to me while I was staying in Syria, a very poor country. The background is the old part of Damascus. The “bloodsuckers” adjust themselves to the environment, so much so that one could not imagine a street without cars. This is the only picture in the series where the plague sits on top of the picture and throws its own shadow over it. What I am trying to say is that the new “horseflies” are not necessarily part of the greater picture. I took the photo because of the OPEL Record, an old friend in a strange environment.
Die Hundsfliegen, auch Bremsen genannt, sind Blutsauger. Sie schneiden eine Wunde und saugenmit ihrem Rüssel das Blut ihrer Opfer wie mit einem Strohhalm auf. DasFoto zu diesem Bild habe ich während einer Reise in Damaskusaufgenommen, als ich dem Opel Rekord aus meiner Heimat, quasi einem „alten Freund“ in fremder Umgebung, begegnete. Trotz Vertrautheit undBegeisterung, die ich empfand, verweise ich sinnbildlich auf denBenzinmotor als Blutsauger, dessen Schädlichkeit mir besonders in armenLändern wie Syrien bewusst wurde. Vor dem Hintergrund der Altstadt vonDamaskus passen sich die „Blutsauger“ derart farblich ihrer Umgebungan, dass sie kaum wegzudenken sind, im übertragenen Sinne auch nichtaus unserem Leben. Einzig in der Serie gibt sich die Plage aufdiesem
Bild zu erkennen. Davor liegend, wirft sie ihreneigenen Schatten und erweckt so den Eindruck, als sei sie nichtwirklich Teil des Bildes.
Copyright Hans Diebschlag.All Rights Reserved.
hans diebschlag
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