Light of man
2017 
Drop paper (glass fiber) and glue
270 x 295 x 30 cm

Peter Callesen won this commissioned assignment to create a new alter piece for Margrethekirken in Valby, Copenhagen. The project was developed in collaboration with the Danish lighting designer Jesper Kongshaug who renewed the lighting of the church. 

The piece "Light of Man" is made out of three layers of drop paper (glass fiber). In the front you see a Christ figure that is made out of all the cut out elements missing from the background papers. The piece is attached on a LED light panel that has different settings depending on the occasion. 

"The light is an important part of this piece. Not just as a material but also as a symbol. Several places in the New Testament Jesus is described and describes himself as the light of life and the light of man. In this piece the Christ figure literally lights up. But there is also a light behind Christ, which could be seen as a resurrection and divine light. We do not see God, but we see Jesus because the divine light strikes him, illuminates him, and shines through him. 

The title "Light of Man" also refers to the dogma of Jesus’s double character as both God and human. The intension is that the expression and posture of the figure can be seen both as the crucified Christ and the resurrected Christ.