The first Hexikon I created was Deus, which is of course Latin for God. As a Christian, my faith is central to my life, and subsequently to my art. Most people think that Christianity is shallow, “unintelligent”, and simplistic — unaware of the centuries-old, deep mystery traditions in Christianity. I have studied (admittedly in a cursory way) many of the mystery traditions in my faith, and I wanted to show some of the ikons and symbols associated with these mystery traditions. I painted this Hexikon cube gold to reflect the belief in Christ the King. As with all my Hexikons, the opposite sides of the cube pair off to complement each other, featuring two cube sides for each of the aspects of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The first aspect of the Trinity represents God the Father with the symbols for the Eye of God and the Hand of God. I tried to include many symbols from both the Old and New Testaments: the Key of Heaven, the planets and stars described throughout scripture, Twelve Stars of David for the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles, the four elements of Creation, and even grapes, which were common sacrifices to God in the Hebrew Bible. The Eye of God represents His omniscient nature, while the Hand of God reflects His omnipotence.

The second pair of images depict the second aspect of the Trinity: the Son. Above is the Christ-child ruling the Earth, while over his head is the crown of seven stars, representing the seven churches. He is the Alpha and Omega, and he holds palm branches as the King of Peace. The second image is Christ as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for the whole world. Again, I employed twelve stars for the twelve tribes of Israel and the twelve apostles. I also included three major Christian acronyms: the Chi Ro (the first two letters of Greek Khristos or Christ), INRI (the plaque over him at the crucifixion: Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews), and IXOYE (the term “Icthus”, which stands for Jesus Christ Son God Savior).

The third pair of images depict aspects of the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Trinity. The most common symbol for the Holy Spirit is the Dove, below which is a candle, representing illumination and knowledge, which are gifts of the Spirit. Below is the tongue of flame, which was how the Spirit manifested itself on the day of Pentecost. The Spirit brings knowledge and gifts, inspiring the writing of the scriptures, which is why I included the alphabets of two of the major languages used in the writing of the scriptures: Greek and Hebrew. On the corners are the Four Creatures from Revelation, which stand for the four gospels.

I feel with this Hexikon I have only scratched the surface of the deep symbolism and mysteries of the Christian faith. It is so much more than Sunday church: it is deep journey of faith, discipline, investigation, meditation, and reflection of the true nature of the universe and the love of our creator. Scholars have pondered the symbols and ikons of the faith for centuries, and new meanings and truths are still being plumbed from its vast depths.

On a business note, these prints will soon be available as individual prints on my website.