ACCORDING to Catholic scripture, God is omnipresent. Sydneysiders will soon have the same impression, with 33 life-sized statues of Jesus Christ being erected in the city as part of an upcoming art exhibition.
JESUSWALKS is being staged to coincide with World Youth Day and will see the fibreglass sculptures, each measuring just over 170cm, displayed at key points across Sydney, including Bondi Beach, Cockle Bay, The Domain and North Sydney.
The artistic designs have been created by more than 40 Australian artists who hail from a range of backgrounds - including "Catholics and non-Catholics and Christians and non-Christians of a variety of inclinations".
Some, like Teho Ropeyarn, have drawn on history as the inspiration for their creations, decorating Jesus' traditional robes with colourful designs from the Torres Strait Island culture.
Others have used a range of techniques, including print-making, graffiti and digital media, to translate their ideas on to the body of the Catholic saviour, who is depicted clothed, with arms outstretched.
Director and curator Helena McCarthy said the exhibition aimed to "demonstrate the connections between young people as pilgrims, young people as artists and young people in need".
The exhibition will be open for the duration of World Youth Day, which takes place in Sydney from July 15-20, and at the conclusion the pieces will be auctioned off, with 100 per cent of the proceeds being donated to Father Chris Riley's Youth Off The Streets program.
Ms McCarthy said the works attempted to "engage with the idea of faith in the contemporary cultural context".
"I thought it would be a great opportunity for young and emerging artists to have an audience of over 300,000 young people," she said.
"Each artist submitted a proposal outlining their ideas - however abstract - and how they would express them on a fixed, three-dimensional form. The rationale of the of the exhibition is very simple - young talent, young audience, with the proceeds going towards a youth-specific charity."
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