ABOUT
Formally trained in the culinary arts and a pastry chef for half a decade before her transition into fine art, Jewell Dalina is a Filipino-Chinese artist who paints of her interpretations of the themes of "agápi and thlípsi".
From the varying forms of love in ancient Greece, agápē is the highest of all—the divine love of gods for humans, and the unconditional love of a mother for her child. Yet, even this sacrificial form of love carries the shadow of grief.
Drawing from our human experience and Christian Iconography, her art intends to remind that love, in all its forms, is ultimately pluralistic in nature— where affection and devotion intertwine with sorrow and loss.
To love is to grieve, and what else could this be if not a testament to the depth of our connections and what makes us human?
Jewell Dalina(林采瑩)是一名菲律賓華人,她在正式踏上成為藝術家的道路之前,是一名受過正規訓練的廚師和甜點職人。她的作品最重要的主題是agápi 和thlípsi。
她的創作立基於生活經驗結合基督・天主教的聖像畫元素,致力於提醒我們愛的本質是多元的,就像光總是伴隨著影子,無論是奔放的赤誠或是無私的奉獻,都伴隨著悲傷或是喪失等等的陰暗面。
agápi(愛)和 thlípsi(渴望)是希臘語中兩個重要的詞彙。這兩個詞彙在希臘文化中具有深刻的意義和重要性。agápi(愛)在希臘文化和基督教傳統中是一種神聖的的愛,被認為是人與神之間最高級別的連結,也是母親對子女的無條件的愛。
這種愛可以存在於親人、朋友、社群以及全人類之間。另一方面,thlípsi(渴望)是一種強烈的渴望或慾望,可能是對某種事物、經驗或目標的追求。它被視為一種推動個人成長和進步的力量,並且被認為是追求幸福和實現自我的關鍵。但是愛也伴隨著它的陰影「悲慟(grieve)」。
選擇了去愛就會面臨悲慟的風險,但又有什麼比這個選擇更能證明我們身為人類,以及體現人類的連結的深度呢?