8 LUMEN | FEATURE
Art in the
Chapel
Koh Bee Liang is the principal designer , artist and founder of Artglass . Her interest is in places of worship and public art installations for institutions and corporations , and her commissioned works for new and restoration projects can be found in Singapore , East and West Malaysia , New Zealand , Sri
Lanka , Spain , Italy and
Canada . Occasionally , she is called upon to design interiors of chapels and residences incorporating not only glass art but also sculptures and paintings .
Lumen speaks to the inspiring artist behind many works of art in our SJI chapel .
NATIVITY WINDOW ( completed in 1995 )
New cobalt blue stained glass fills the entire top façade like strokes from a giant brush painting a new beginning over the old . Advent ! A new window ; a new life in Christ .
Within a gold ring , an aura of peace surrounds the Holy Family and the awe-struck shepherd boys .
While Joseph is represented by a supporting mature figure in the background , Mary is most gentle and motherly , carrying all the maternal sentiments
The floating angels are in monochrome as they are from a different realm . The gold and incense represent fitting tributes given to the infant Jesus .
The swaddling cloth which wraps infant Jesus in the round window unfurls to reveal a lamb crying in a spot of blood in the window below . It echoes the words of the Prophet Isaiah , “ He was treated harshly , but endured it humbly ; he never said a word . Like a lamb about to be slaughtered . ( Isa 53:7 )