HOLY BODIES
Representation has never been simply about appearance. It shapes identity. It influences how we understand our worth, our purpose, and our place within history. For generations, many Black families have worshipped in sacred spaces where holiness has often been depicted through faces that did not resemble their own. While faith proclaims that all people bear God's image, the visual language of that faith has not always reflected that truth. Holy Bodies seeks to expand that conversation. This work reminds us that every human being is created with inherent dignity and divine purpose. Representation is not about changing who God is, it is about reminding people, our people, that they, too, were created in God's image.
When Rev. Dr. Carol Lynn Patterson and FreeHER commissioned this piece, they recognized the powerful parallels between the story of Jesus' family fleeing to Egypt for survival and the journeys of women and families seeking refuge, healing, and restoration today. Their mission is to restore dignity to those whose stories have too often been defined by trauma instead of triumph.
As both an artist and the founder of the Adams Arts & Culture Foundation, I believe art possesses a unique ability to preserve culture, restore identity, and transform communities. The Foundation was established to build and sustain the infrastructure that empowers underrepresented artists to create, preserve, and distribute culture so that identity, history, and legacy are protected and passed forward across generations. Holy Bodies represents that mission in practice. This artwork is more than a portrait. It is a cultural artifact. It is a declaration that sacred stories belong to all of humanity and that communities who have historically been marginalized deserve to see themselves reflected with the same reverence, beauty, and holiness afforded to others.
Together, FreeHER and the Adams Arts & Culture Foundation share a vision that extends far beyond this commission. We believe Holy Bodies should travel to churches, seminaries, museums, universities, and community spaces throughout the world, not simply as an artwork to be admired, but as an invitation to heal, to learn, and to see one another more fully.
It is an invitation to remember that God’s image has never been confined by race, geography, or history. It has always lived within us and will continue to live within us.
- Kyle Olani Adams
Artist | Founder & Executive Director, Adams Arts & Culture Foundation
Inspired by the ministry of the late Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr., founder and pastor of the Shrine of the Black Madonna church in Detroit, Michigan; FreeHER has commissioned renowned artist Kyle Olani Adams to create Holy Bodies, a portrait of Jesus and His mother to encourage and empower those who have fled from harmful situations. Too often, shame causes those who are escaping something to hide in the shadows and hang their heads. Just as the Shrine of the Black Madonna served as a way station for Freedom Fighters in the late 1960s, FreeHER seeks to heal, empower and restore the minds, bodies and souls of those who have the dubious distinction of being members of the species that Malcolm X described as "the most disrespected, unprotected and neglected in America."
We believe Holy Bodies, the breath-taking portrait that Kyle has created, will inspire Black women and their children to see the divine in themselves as they connect their stories to Jesus' story ~ particularly his family fleeing to Egypt for survival. Identifying with this aspect of Jesus' story has the potential to revive inherent dignity, lift up bowed down heads, straighten up shrugged shoulders, and open pathways toward prominence.
When descendants of the enslaved and/or the colonized realize that their stories parallels Jesus' story and they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about, new worlds of possibility will appear just as the sun seems to be rising on Jesus and Mary. Former ill-fitting identities can be forgotten just as the sun seems to be setting on Jesus and Mary. Inner lights will begin to shine brightly just as a halo appears above and around Jesus and the woman who brought him into the world.
It is our sincere prayer that those who gaze upon this magnificent work of art will be set free from the shackles of their past and inspired to embrace the fullness of their future!
- Rev. Dr. Carol Lynn Partterson
Founder, FreeHER
On Behalf of The First Presbyterian Church of Newark
Inspired by the late Rev. Albert B. Cleage, Jr. and the Shrine of the Black Madonna church in Detroit, FreeHER has collaborated with First Presbyterian Church of Newark, NJ to commission renowned artist Kyle Olani Adams to create Holy Bodies, a portrait of Jesus and His mother that would encourage and empower those who have had to flee from harmful situations.
Too often shame causes those on-the-run to hide in the shadows, hang their heads, and get comfortable hanging-out on the margins of society. Just as Cleage's preaching and activism fueled the Black liberation movement of the late 1960s, FreeHER aims primarily to liberate the minds, bodies and souls of Black women and their children today (particularly those who have been affected by domestic violence and/or intimate partner violence).
We believe Holy Bodies, the breath-taking portrait that Kyle has created, will inspire Black women and their children to see the divine in themselves as they connect their stories to Jesus' story. Understanding that Jesus' family had to flee to Egypt for survival has the potential to restore dignity to and to draw those who have testimonies of being among -- as Malcolm X stated -- "the most disrespected, unprotected and neglected" persons on the planet out of shadows with uplifted heads to their rightful places in the world.
When descendants of the enslaved and/or colonized realize that their story is Jesus' story, new worlds of possibility will appear just as the sun seems to be rising on Jesus and Mary. Former identities can become fuel for brighter futures just as the sun seems to be setting on Jesus and Mary. Inner lights will be begin to shine brightly just as a halo appears above and around Jesus and His mother, Mary.
It is our prayer that Holy Bodies will help anyone and everyone around the world who ponders its beauty to embody grace and embrace their full potential.
