Female Corporeality and Religion 2023
Online Art Exhibition
The Meeting between Mary and Elizabeth
Kateryna Noha
Iconography
Board, levkas, egg tempera
Diameter 20 cm
2023
SOLD
Description
In the entire Gospel, there is only one encounter between two pregnant women (Luke 1.39–56). At the centre of this encounter is undoubtedly the Good News of the advent of the new messianic era, and the two women are the first to receive this news and share it with one another. Undoubtedly, they also share their experience of pregnancy. Reflecting on Mary’s stay with Elizabeth from the perspective of the traditional Eastern Christian iconography, I use two words, “acceptance” and “sharing,” as the key to understanding the event. Both Mary and Elizabeth are women capable of understanding and accepting God’s will. In the human sense, acceptance also refers to Elizabeth welcoming Mary in her home. They both share with one another the experience of faith, and undoubtedly the female experience of pregnancy. The experience of their faith and their pregnancy meet and deeply intertwine with one another, making them inseparable.
Thus, by emphasizing the female experience of two pregnant women’s support and acceptance by of one another, I wish to emphasize God’s acceptance and appreciation of female corporeality.
Kateryna Noha
Noha Kateryna (b. 1984) is a Ukrainian artist who works in medieval iconography, as well as with other painting and graphic techniques. She designs and executes icons for churches and private individuals. She designed and painted the walls of the chapel of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Derezhychi.
