Artwork description:

Part of the Christmas story is the Holy family's desperate flight to Egypt. Troubles in the East today cause terrified people to attempt a transit of the English Channel in makeshift boats. Jesus pointed out that our own fate rests upon how we treat strangers and 'the least' of his brothers and sisters.

This picture is based upon Hokusai's famous image 'the great wave'. I moved location from Sagami Bay to the English Channel by substituting Mount Fuji for the cliffs of Dover and turning the elegant boats of Hokusai's time into the overloaded and wobbly craft employed by channel runners today. The title is taken from a line in the hymn 'Eternal Father, Strong to Save' written by William Whiting in 1860, based upon a description of being in a ship during a storm at sea in Psalm 107. I arranged the title inscription vertically in the Japanese style.

This is an original relief print pulled from rubber. The edition is 6 prints only. The sheet is 10 x 13 inches (254x330mm) and the image is about 7½ x 10¾ inches (190 x 273mm). I can trim the sheet down to 10 x 12 inches if you prefer. Please feel free to contact me to put a question or make a remark.

Materials used:

oil-based ink, off-white Japanese paper

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