Balinese artist Nyoman Darsane—painter, musician and dancer was born in 1939 and raised as a Hindu. At the age of seventeen he became a Christian and as a result was ostracized by his family and village community, who thought he was abandoning his culture. But Darsane was determined to show through his art that Christianity was not at odds with the Balinese heritage and they eventually accepted him back. Darsane once said: “Bali is my body; Christ is my life.”
Dance is integral to Balinese life and in so many of his paintings Nyoman Darsane depicts Jesus as a dancer, dancing the world into being. In this picture we see a bare-chested Jesus, full of energy, dancing down from the top right corner and bringing fire and light. We see him wearing traditional ornaments – wrist and arm bands, a leather necklace and white cotton pants with velvet cuffs. As Jesus clears a path for himself he pushes the demons to the very edge so he can dance right into the womb of Mary. Mary kneels in traditional Balinese prayer posture, holding a frangipani flower to her forehead.
The symbolism here is clear. Jesus comes to challenge the powers of darkness; to fight the power of oppression and injustice , and to usher in a new way of being. He invites us to consider how we can fight the obstacles that afflict so many, and strive to make the world a better place.
He parted the heavens and came down with a storm cloud under his feet. He reached down from on high and grasped me; he drew me out of great waters. He delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me. He brought me into an open place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. He parted the heavens and came down. Adapted from Psalm 18