Michelle Christofferson is a painter and teacher based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She is a colourist: her imagery, compositional devices, and process, are often whimsical—and always inspired by trees. We’re delighted to be able to share here a new diptych by Michelle which we especially commissioned for this Advent/Summer edition of Common Ground.
The Freedom Series, Untitled No.1 is strikingly alive, full of light and movement. It’s a meditation on Luke 15, the story of the Father and his two sons—often known as the parable of the Prodigal Son. Michelle writes:
Reflecting for this painting on Luke 15 and the story of the Father and his two sons, I had a sense of the parallel between the brothers: they both wrestled with their freedom: the prodigal son’s distance from—and journey back to—the Father’s house; and how the older son failed to understand the freedom he already lived in.
On a Saturday morning dog walk, I came across a tree that is the inspiration for this painting. It grows next to a path, its branches long and stretched out, reaching into the distance. I saw in this tree the Luke 15 parable of journeying across distance to the Father and striving for his presence. I also felt the air around the tree as being full of the Spirit of God in all his generosity and beauty.
This painting is composed in a mirror image, representing the journey of both brothers; the colour visualises God’s rich presence, always with us.
