2021 | Thesis | 3D Art
This is a common myth: that when one is a Christian, there will be no suffering and good things - such as the world sees as desirable - will be yours. This is a myth. If anything, the Christian walk is the opposite, a life dedicated to suffering, persecution, pain, and grief. And yet, despite it all, as many followers of Christ claim, the Christian journey is also full of life, love, joy, faith, peace, rest, forgiveness and compassion. How can this be? Simply, a change in perspective, a change of mind. With the help of research, discussion and reflection, Nasia has come to realise what makes her remain restful and content when going through trials and tribulations, and that is God’s Word, meaning the Bible.
"where i found rest" uses 3D computer graphics to illustrate how God’s Word has made Nasia content, satisfied and restful even as her physical circumstances may remain tough and turbulent. This project explores the paradox of the Christian life and expands on the joy of understanding the truth.
Please note that the QR codes displayed on this page no longer work as the webpages they linked to have been removed / transferred to another platform.
2 COR 12:9-10
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
MT 10:39
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
DEUT 5:12-14a,15a
Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. (...) Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
MT 6:24
No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
LK 18:13-14
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
PHIL 2:5-8
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!
1 THESS 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
The Intermission Sculpture
The Story Behind "The Intermission" Digital Sculpture
Don't enjoy reading? Listen to the recording!
My thesis project has taken on many variations during the process of making. Some ideas were abandoned, some others were further developed. In one instance, I modelled 3D objects to be part of an animation I have planned on making. However, soon after, after reflections, discussions and feedback sessions, I have realised that I had to change my artistic direction slightly in order to accommodate and to better support my concept and my communication to my audience. Yet when I got to this point, I was stuck. Am I to start from scratch or am I to continue to work with what I have got? I saw meaning in the everyday 3D objects I have created. However, at that point, I thought them rather useless, boring, grey and dry. In my mind, I have thrown them onto a rubbish pile. I convinced myself that I had to start anew in order to move forward. But I was still very much stuck. Since I didn’t know how to move forward, I prayed and God told me to have fun and explore what I can do with Blender without thinking much about my thesis. So, I did. For a week, I had fun making abstract designs, putting aside, for a moment, the pressure of not having an idea for my thesis. In this special week of “freedom”, God changed my mind. God let me see and experience my passion and creativity. Moreover, He showed me how good He is. It was a week where I got refreshed through His grace. Then, right after that week, God pointed me towards the rubbish pile of 3D objects. He told me that they are not useless, that they are worth all the time I have put in to model them. They were not made without purpose. An idea then suddenly jumped into my head: I can modify the models using the skills I have acquired during the week of non-thesis work, a.k.a. the week of “freedom”!
This is the story of how the artworks came to life. Yet, this is also the story of "The Intermission" sculpture, which ties all the artworks together. This sculpture is a reminder that we can find contentment in our current circumstances by the renewing of our minds through God’s Word. It is a choice to see the good.
What The Ordinariness of The Objects in "The Intermission" Signifies
Don't enjoy reading? Listen to the recording!
As much as there is a story behind the sculpture, there is also an explanation to the choice of objects I have modelled that are present in the sculpture. All the objects are ordinary objects that you would see in your everyday life. Some of these objects you would probably associate with work, some others with rest, and some maybe with both work and rest.
Initially, my thesis project explored the topic of rest and Sabbath, which, in a sense, is still reflected within my final work. However, through the journey of making, discovery, prayer and reflection, I have come to realise what exactly gave me rest and what makes Sabbath work, and that is God’s Word.
In order to portray this transformative experience of the renewing of my mind by God, I have chosen to portray this using the contrast between ordinary objects and their artistic transformation. Therefore, in other words, the ordinariness of the objects is reflective of the situation or circumstance I am in each day. The artistically transformed objects, in comparison, signify the changed perspective after reading God’s Word.
