This week’s Artist’s Corner is a graphic design from Abi Tsigie, a first-year. He created “Vexation of Spirit” for a scholarship competition run by Shalom Mennonite Church that encouraged students to think creatively about their role as peacemakers.
The winged figure that dominates the design is actually the outline of Tsigie’s own body but represents any individual. The piece is filled with symbolism, including the image of Africa on the wings which represents Tsigie’s African heritage and conveys group belonging.The barbed wire symbolizes how an individual can be held down from helping the world and the surrounding words – borrowed from a Citizen Cope song – serve as “catalysts,” according to Tsigie.
The outline of the world map at the bottom, Tsigie said, suggests that one individual does have the power to create change, for good or evil.
Color serves as an important symbol in the original work, too. “The green color surrounding the wings represents life – life coming to the heart of the individual,” Tsigie said. “The red fire with the peace sign in the middle – right on top of my heart – shows that there is still hope for peace and prosperity.”
