In my diptych Regeneration, the figure is submerged in water and surrounded by eight jellyfish. As previously stated, the number eight is a symbol of regeneration. According to a German marine biology student, Christian Sommer, jellyfish (‘Turritopsis’) are able to regenerate.31 The word water is referenced in the Bible in a variety of symbolic ways. As mentioned on the Bible Study Tools website:
water is used to symbolize the troublesome times in life that can and do come to human beings, especially God’s children. In some contexts water stands for enemies who can attack and need to be overcome. In both the Old and New Testaments, the word “water” is used for salvation and eternal life, which God offers humankind through faith in his Son… Following along this same theme, water sometimes symbolizes the spiritual cleansing that comes with the acceptance of God’s offer of salvation.32
The term water is also used as a metaphor for the word of God. In his article “What Does Water Represent In The Bible? A Christian Study,” Jack Wellman states “The word of God is often referred to as water in the Bible because the Word acts as a cleansing agent which explains what Paul meant when he wrote concerning Jesus’ cleansing the church ‘that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish’ (Eph 5:26-27).”33 In his conclusion Wellman adds “so water in the Bible represents the cleansing of the sinner by the washing of the water of the Word of God.”34
(The jumbo Braille dots, incorporated in this painting, are a poem that I wrote and transcribed into Braille with clay dots.)
