Arnold Doornbos

Off Road Design

Shine A Light

Arnold Doornbos is best known as a graphic and illustrative artist, inspired by thoughtful design. In an overminimalist world he strives to make room for decorative work in everyday places. As a graduation project, Arnold has taken on the challenge of learning the art of stained glass.

Before coming up with the theme of his work, Arnold has done research on religious art, symbolism and the meaning and role of the Spirit in different religions. One recurring definition of the Spirit was the description of light. Arnold has also visited three different churches, and learned all about catholic, reformed and mennonite church art. What he realised is that stained glass is not only a beautiful art technique but also will only really come to its full purpose when light shines through it. Considering the Spirit being a Light, the imagery in a stained glass art piece can come to life through the Spirit shining through.

Searching for a fitting topic for this idea, Arnold landed upon The Fruits of the Spirit. These ‘fruits’ are a Biblical analogy that describe nine different christian virtues: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self Control.

Combining Kindness and Goodness together, Arnold has created a series of eight designs, each portraying one (or two) of these fruits. Both searching for Biblical ideas as well as generally well-known symbols, Arnold manages to attract a wide variety of viewers and ideas to a rather unfamiliar and specific topic.

When visiting the exposition, one will have the opportunity to keep standing up or sit down on the bench situated in front of the installation, to meditate on the work in peace. The installation is set up in a half moon shape, mimicking the shape of a church. What differs from a usual stained glass art piece is that Arnold has added an interactive feature to the work: using a remote control, the viewer will have the opportunity to light up the artwork by him/herself, in line with the original idea of letting the Spirit shine through. The stained glass pieces are there to enjoy and to represent, but in order to let the Fruits of the Spirit truly come to life, it will be the viewers choice to Shine A Light.

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