Knox College receives original artwork
1 Feb, 2017 — This week artist Henna Kim donated to Knox College “Yet I sing a new song,” a set of six pieces of mixed media artwork on Korean paper. The pieces are currently displayed in the students’ Common Lounge at Knox.
Henna Kim received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Korea University and a Master of Religious Education degree from Knox College (2008). She then returned to Knox College in 2014 to begin a Master of Divinity degree.
She said, “Just as a mother decorates her own house with beautiful collections and flowers for family members and visitors to enjoy, I wanted to make my beloved school beautiful a more welcoming place for all community members and visitors. Sharing my artwork at Knox is a pure pleasure and a great honour for me as a student, an artist, and a Christian. I hope my painting provides opportunity for people in the lounge to think of God more deeply in their own spiritual journeys.”
Artist Henna Kim with Knox College Principal Dorcas Gordon.
The plaque Henna has provided with the artwork includes the text: “It is a beautiful day, to sing a new song, a song of praise to our God. With a clean heart and a right spirit, that He keeps creating within me. He puts a new song in my soul every day, so I sing, I sing a new song, here, now, and forever.”
She explained that in title of the artwork, “Yet I sing a new song,” the word “yet” refers to praising God in the midst our sufferings, large and small. “God is so faithful and sincere that He puts a new song in our mind, soul, spirit, and mouth. So we can sing a new song every day, not an old song, but a new song,” she said. “The plaque text is a paraphrase from Psalms, especially from David’s confessions, which have become my confessions as well – and I believe the confessions of all Christians.”
Henna and her husband, Hyung Jun Ahn (also a Knox College graduate), serve at Vaughan (Ont.) Community Church. Learn more about Henna and her artwork at www.hennakimART.com.