Weight of Becoming

This body of work draws from the Book of Genesis, specifically Genesis 32:22–32, which recounts Jacob’s nightlong wrestle with God—a moment of struggle, surrender, and transformation. Refusing to let go until he is blessed, Jacob emerges changed: wounded with a limp, yet renamed Israel and marked for purpose. This pivotal passage becomes both the conceptual and spiritual foundation of the work.

The installation is composed of five large-scale quote panels, each approximately four feet by eight feet. Together, they function as imagined pages of a Bible, inviting viewers to move through the work as though they are physically turning pages. The first panel begins with a literal image of the Bible, grounding the viewer in scripture. As the panels progress, they trace Jacob’s departure into struggle, the act of wrestling with God, the physical and spiritual marking of his limp, and finally his return—no longer Jacob, but Israel.

While rooted in Jacob’s story, this work is ultimately about identification and reflection. I invite viewers to insert themselves into the narrative—to see their own moments of struggle, transformation, and divine encounter mirrored in Jacob’s journey. His evolution from a mischievous and flawed figure into someone God ultimately uses for a greater purpose reflects a universal process of growth, accountability, and redemption.

Materiality plays a critical role in communicating this transformation. I use a range of fabrics to build layered textures that reference both vulnerability and resilience. Fabric becomes a metaphor for the body, memory, and spirit—each piece carrying its own weight, history, and emotional resonance. Color is equally intentional, guiding the emotional movement of the work and reinforcing themes of struggle, blessing, and renewal.

Through fabric, color, scale, and scripture, this body of work visualizes the tension between wrestling and release, faith and doubt, injury and blessing. It honors the complexity of spiritual transformation and affirms that sometimes becoming who we are meant to be requires not letting go.