salvation in a box
Zinc Plate Line Etching with Aquatint Tonal Method

The character in this print represents Jesus.  The image we are familiar with as Jesus is a white male with a beard and an in-shape body.  As unrealistic as this is, it shows who shaped the image of the religion (Europeans).  So whether you believe Jesus was purely mythological or not, the physical appearance should be anonymous.  This is even more evident being the state and/or symbolism of Jesus in modern era seems to be so difficult to define.

The Jesus figure is confined to an enclosed box.  Engraved across the wall are quotes from the Gospel of Thomas.  Those unfamiliar with Thomas may not know that it is one of the many ancient manuscripts written in relation to early Christianity.  It is composed of 114 quotes credited to Jesus.  However, the Catholic Church deemed this gospel heretical due to the content of teaching which expresses no need for an external church and all salvation can be found within ones own self.  Here one is capable of becoming equal to the state of Christ and become one with the divine.

 The concept of this print can be expressed in 2 separate ways.  One can deal with the idea of the symbolic concept of "Christ within".  In this case, the idea of Christ is self-realization.  By discovering your true inner being is poetically stated as "finding Christ".  The other idea is represented with the church image.  How the church suppressed this idea and hid it from public view.  As we see in the image, the true Jesus is suppressed while their idea has been left out in the open and flourished over time.