Photography Project- I AM ROBERT AND I AM CHRISTIAN -
This is one of my photography project.
Now when I see this picture above,I can sense something strange, symbolic, a bit dark and unusual, something that I didn’t sense in the same moment when I pressed the shutter, as I was completely immersed in finding a connection with the stranger.
Photography gives you a possibility to discover something. When you look in the viewfinder you explore.
Then, when you see the final picture, more and more come up like magic. It is very impressive how the personality of a subject come up slowly, if you don’t force nothing, if you have the patience to wait.
The picture was not staged at all. All came in a spontaneous way.
This is the core of my new project, the chaotic moment can be transformed in a relaxed one only if you let your fears go.
The overall idea is taking a picture of strangers. The only thing I knew, in this situation, was that I had to take picture of a stranger met on Internet, somewhere.
He said that I could photograph him naked but with a mask, because he didn’t want to show his face for personal reasons. We have to respect other people opinions.
A couple of weeks before, I asked to my niece Erica of 6 years old from Italy,to draw a couple of masks for me and send them to me soon as she could.
She did a rainbow fish, colourful (in the picture above is in black and white)and a smiling bear. I brought those masks with me that day.
During my session of photos I discovered that my model was Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ and a church practitioner and when I went home I looked of meaning of symbols and animals.
My model is Christian, he had cross on his back, a tattoo "Peter" on his shoulderand he has a tattoo with the word ‘Jesus” on his foot and my niece draw a rainbow fish.Great!
Then I did some research on Internet and I discovered that there is a connection between the symbol of the fish and the Christianity.
TheSymbol of the fish
What does it mean?
The fish symbol is the earliest of Christian symbols and was the most common representation of Jesus Christ from the second through the fourth centuries.
Why is the fish meaningful to Christians?
The Bible relates a number of accounts where fish were a significant aspect of Jesus’ ministry.
On one occasion (Matthew 14:19), Jesus served several thousand families with a meal of bread and fish. On another occasion (Matthew 4:19), Jesus called Peter and Andrew, saying, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” Many early Christians were persecuted and forced to worship secretly.
The fish symbol served as a secret form of communication. Often the persecuted Christians would scratch this symbol on the ground to identify themselves to fellow believers.
Soon, Christians began to attach meaning to the word “fish” itself. The Greek letters for ichthus (meaning “fish”, pronounced “ICK-THOOS”) became an acronym: I=Jesus; X=Christ; O=God’s; Y=Son; E=Savior.
Today, the person who displays the fish symbol has accepted the same New Testament teaching that these early Christians accepted: that Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior.
By a decision of faith, this person has entered into a personal relationship with God and knows the reality of God’s forgiveness.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9 KJV)
I’d love to hear what you think about this issue. Let me know in the comments.That would be good to know.
Loredana Denicola
See more stories with strangers on my blog
Website - loredanadenicola.com
