This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. [John 15:12, NRSV]
On Maundy Thursday, Jesus knelt and washed the feet of his disciples as a way of demonstrating his mandatum, his commandment that we love one another as he loves us. The Ziyada enterprise, located in India and initiated by Harrison DeJarnett, is living that mandatum in a powerful and tangible way.
Referencing the foot washing, this three-dimensional basin and ewer were created using yarns spun by Ziyada workers from silk fibers that they harvested from sari waste in combination with an industrial felt product (intended as flooring underlayment) that was made from harvested denim waste. The vessels demonstrate how God’s love embraces all the “waste” of our human brokenness and uses it to make all things new.
This work was created for Making Good[s], an invitational, traveling exhibition co-sponsored by Asbury Seminary and Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA).
