Winner of the 2024 Student Art Contest

This crucifix is located in Room 115 of O'Shaughnessy Hall.

Artist’s Statement:

Lord, when did we see you? Christ has no body but ours. Lord, when did we see ourselves? We are all parts of the Body of Christ; without one of us, the Church is incomplete, yet many of us remain unrepresented and unacknowledged in the Church.

This crucifix is inspired by the lack of representation of Black people in the Church. Even in parishes with large Black populations, the large Jesus behind the altar is frequently starkly pale. How are my Black siblings in Christ to see themselves as Christ to the world when we visually taught, time and time again, that Jesus is a white man?

This ceramic crucifix is inspired by art from Black artists. The bold colors incorporated in the work and the pattern of the halo are inspired by African art, particularly Kanga textiles, and the figure of Jesus and the form of the cross are modeled after the distorted, sometimes abstract figures seen in art from the Harlem Renaissance. Jesus is clad in plaid boxers, a modern article of clothing, so that we might look at him and remember that the story of Jesus is not an ancient story, but one that we live today.

As a student at Notre Dame, Harkins majored in studio art and Spanish.

When you are ready, continue down the hallway to Room 110.