BY LEULSEGED WORKU
Several writers, scholars, religious leaders, politicians and motivational speakers have said a lot about the power of forgiveness. Some of them have used the word for the sake of motivating others or to get publicity without practicing it. Others have spoken about forgiveness and practiced it and they have become legendary figures through their deeds.
Recently, an art exhibition entitled “Yikerta” to mean ‘Forgiveness” was staged here in Addis. The exhibition was organized by Artist Bereket Andarge, who was born and grew up in Bahir Dar.
As it is learned, Bereket exhibited his works for the 60th time. Most of his paintings displayed here in Addis Ababa were in black and white colors; and were done based on his philosophy of “forgiveness”.
Using his idea as a ground, this reporter had a chance to share Bereket`s philosophy and thoughts concerning forgiveness to readers.
“Forgiveness is not something we talk about for the sake of getting acceptance or, for the sake of political consumption. It rather is a life by itself,” says Bereket. We prove forgiveness by practicing it. We forgive not only for the sake of another person who hurt our feelings but for our own sake. The more we forgive others, the more we get internal peace. Forgiving others may not be as simple as it seems. It needs commitment and a strong value system which is based upon cultural and religious norms of a given society. In this regard, we Ethiopians are religious people and; are raised hearing the power of forgiveness in respective religious institutions. For this reason, we practice what we heard from religious leaders and from our forefathers.”
Regarding converting “forgiveness” into visual art, Bereket said, depending on the culture of a given society, forgiveness can be expressed in various ways. “For instance, in the society where I was born, it is common to ask individuals for forgiveness by carrying a rock on shoulder. I have tried to convert this idea into painting by using symbols.”
As to him, converting forgiveness into visual art is not simple; at the same time; it is not that much difficult. Symbols are gifts of the creator to all human kinds. God has created words before He created man. For that reason, man has been using words and symbols for millennia.
The cave man had been using symbols to express himself /herself through them. Then, through time, man has developed a more complex and systematic way of expressing life through words and symbols to convey a message. Painting is one way of expression. “That is what I used to define forgiveness in the form of a picture.”
In one of his paintings, Bereket has portrayed the image of Jesus Christ where his face covered with blood and the scar on His body reflects the sacrifice He paid to save humankind. According to Bereket, Jesus Christ is the father and model of all forms of forgiveness. Through His sufferings, He has taught humankind love and forgiveness. Despite all the betrayal and the burden He faced because of human beings, He has never abandoned them. For that reason, Jesus is the emblem of love and forgiveness. That is why the artist preferred to put Him on his canvas – to convey his message about forgiveness.
The other work where Bereket reflected his thoughts about forgiveness is the image of Nelson Mandela. According to Bereket, whenever the issue of forgiveness is raised, Nelson Mandela is always remembered for his forgiveness, peace loving personality, humility, integrity, passion, respect and his will to serving others.
“Mandela shows these values not in words or vague ideas, but in action. That is why he paid all the sacrifices. It was for this very reason Madiba suffered in prison. But the reward he received is immeasurable. When Mandela came into power, most people in his time were expecting revenge, imprisonment of white minorities. However, to the surprise of the whole world, he showed them mercy and even went on assigning them to higher political positions, he added.
“Peace can only be ensured by love and forgiveness not by revenge. This is what we have learned from Mandela’s leadership skill. That is why he is still considered as an icon of love and forgiveness. Using his philosophy, I have tried to depict his picture in black and white color that reflects harmony in differences.”
When asked why his paintings are dominated by black and white color Bereket said, “Life is all about balancing. Our nature is made up of such truth. Can you imagine what our eyes look like if it was only made out of black color? Our creator has made us to live in harmony with nature. What is more, the black and white colors also represent ‘Light and Darkness’ which are natural and recurring facts of our life. Both darkness and light live in harmony. The spectrum of human experience includes the contrasting realities of darkness and light. As long as our planet exists or we exist in this life, we must embrace both. This is the reality of our life. Lightness cannot exist without darkness.”
Clays are one of the media the artist used to reflect his thoughts about forgiveness. Using all the available clay materials our parents used for household purposes, Bereket has testified his deep talent by converting them into art and philosophy. For Bereket human beings and pots have something in common. They are made from the same material-soil- and both of them are fragile.
Bereket has a firm belief that having proper care and valuing the fragile body we are carrying is not an option but a must. Life is short; for that reason we need to nourish it; we should also care for the life of others. Whenever we nurture tolerance and love among each other, we would improve our lifestyle and others. The more we avoid hatred and nurture forgiveness; we are not only creating earthly heaven to ourselves, but also to the generation to come.
For this reason, he added: “I use clay pots to express my philosophy and to remind humankind as he is created of the dust. As one famous author puts it, to forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 27 JANUARY 2023
