'A Broken King'

Student Reflection

I chose the passage The Flight to Egypt (Matthew 2:13-23) because it shows faithfulness towards Jesus and God, by trusting his plan and listening to his words. My artwork shows a tiny king (King Herod) in a big crown, feeling the pressure of having competition against Jesus. He is scared and jealous of baby Jesus, unborn, who is just a prophecy, but already more powerful than him. Herod thinks all his hard work will be forgotten.

The big words in my artwork show Herod’s loud, angry feelings, like “HE WILL OVERTHROW ME!” and “I WILL BE POWERLESS!!” The small words show his quiet worries. I imagined how people in 1 AD may have expressed these thoughts, even though the words aren’t perfect.

The crown has red and green jewels. Red represents hatred, while green means peace. Herod is deciding what to do, and he chooses red. The blood splatters show his genocidal plot.

I used mixed media: water paint for the background, oil pastel for the crown, and sharpie for the words and outlines. I wanted the colour and texture to show Herod’s emotions and the danger Jesus faced.