Jacob's Ladder

"Jacob's Ladder", 2022 (gold, mica, quartz, and white ruby on Kumohada paper over canvas, 89 x66 in. Copyright © 2022 Makoto Fujimura).

This large painting, full of mystery, will be exhibited for the first time at Capital Turnaround in Washington D.C., from September 24 to October 31st.  Windrider Productions have captured the process of revealment that Fujimura experienced while on an Embers International visit to the darkest realms of the earth (click for a video). He writes about this in both of his recent books: 

 This painting is featured in two recent Fujimura books:

 "As we prepared to leave for South Asia in 2022, Haejin saw a large painting in my studio but could not recognize it. She was puzzled, as she had regularly watched me paint. It turned out to be a painting she had seen before, one based on Psalm 23, but it had experienced a radical transformation. It was clear that I had taken new risks in the process of creating this painting that she had never seen before. It had striking veil-like split gestures in pure gold. While it was dramatic, it also created a visual conundrum. 'What is this painting?' Haejin asked me. I looked at the painting with Haejin and paused, 'I don't know. I have no idea what this painting wants to become.' Haejin immediately became immensely curious. She had never heard me say that I couldn't tell what a painting wanted to be. Haejin's curiosity was piqued, but she held back from probing. Instead, as we were leaving my studio, she said, "Then, let's wait until the painting tells you what it wants to become.'"

— "Beauty and Justice: Creating a Life of Abundance and Courage" (Brazos Press)

"What did I see, even for just a moment?

The ladder, in my mind's eye in prayer, turned into a Jacob's ladder, with angels ascending and descending on it (Genesis 28:12). My uttered prayer hoped that this golden light would release our sister and saturate this room. My art often begins in prayers facing devastations, the 'ground zero' of our lives. Even a feeble prayer can open the eyes of my heart. I realized that I had seen that ladder before. It was at the heart of the 'conundrum' painting I was working on back home.

God gave me a vision in Nihonga materials.

In the dark brothel in South Asia, I saw visions of white ruby, quartz, and mica. I have used white pigments, including white ruby and quartz, as symbols of sacred purity, of the veil that is lifted when the Spirit illumines our hearts. I realize now, as I reflect on this experience, that the slow process to preparing gofun sanctifies my imagination, as if the pulverized Itabo oyster shells can cleanse my vision."

— "Art Is: A Journey into the Light" (Yale University Press)

Photo by Windrider Productions