AN ART GALLERY BASED ON A BOOK
As Joshua wrote in his diary all those sleepless nights, there were times where he had no words to express his feelings. So he picked up some paper, and began to draw. Joshua hand drew a few dozen pieces of art based on his experiences. These experiences include his journey across three countries, and the true feelings in his heart.
The Becoming Joshua Art Exhibit
The Becoming Joshua Art Exhibit ended on Nov 13, 2022 ____________________
A huge thank you to everyone who supported, presented, and experienced the Becoming Joshua Art Exhibit.
Becoming Joshua – Lansing Community College
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Interviews
Voice of Persecutions
I open the gateway to my heart, and I see nothing but the pain of the past. The trauma that has haunted me remains fresh in my soul. The silhouette of the torturer walking into that dark room I once was in. I cry out from these memories that seem to remain in the present, no matter how much I want to move forward in time. But no one else can see my pain, for it is inside me. I cry out nonetheless, and others may perceive me as crazy. They don’t see the trauma beneath my skin.
I couldn’t hear the voices of other people. And the worst part was I couldn’t hear the reflection of my own voice. A feeling of no control in my own destiny. The only control I felt was when I was wiping my words onto the white, mute and deaf paper. I started writing my story, and what had happened to me. This drawing shows the unspoken side of trauma, and the struggle of being heard and understood.
“No one listens until they see something” – Joshua
Freedom
I wanted to sing, like the birds sing, Not worrying about who hears or what others think.
O Bird; fly to your native land, do not come with me. I am cursed. Cursed to be alone, cursed to carry pain in my shoulders, the pain of loneliness, the pain of rejection.
There is loneliness more precious than life, there is freedom more precious than the world. I wash my heart from all questioning and all knowledge and forget myself because questioning and knowledge cannot unravel the secret of truth, nor wealth, or position. pain is the price that the heart has to pay.
O Bird, fly to your native land and tell “sing” to your people, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free”.
“I use to ask who I am and where I belong. I don’t ask anymore. I am no one and I am placeless. I am free of all “I”. “-Joshua
Persevere
Change is gonna come.
Don’t hang around, change is gonna come…
God took my Wings and Gravity wants to bring me down. Religions want to control and stop me from being who I am. But they don’t know; I am a rebel. I rebel against everything and everyone who even tries to stop me.
Change will start in my mind and there is some voice telling me; change is gonna come if I wish for the right things…
I wish I had enough water to turn off the Hell Fires, and I wish I had a enough Fire to burn the Heaven. So, when there is no Heaven and Hell, the real believers will worship God for God and NOT because of the fear of Hell or earning the Heaven.
I don’t need heaven or hell in order to know or Love the Creator.
I Am and I Am Not
My eyes tell you the truth, not the mirror. The mirror is what others want me to be, and it is not me. I am tied up in a prison of mirrors which has yet to exist. These mirrors try to change me and make me be what people want to see. And I resist… because I want to be who I am. This resistance costs. It cost my life through rejection. Resistance makes me lose myself… but losing will help me gain everything.
“I don’t want to be machine man with machine heart. I don’t want to be someone that others want me to be. The great sin is not what you want to be or who you want to be. The great sin is pretending to be someone that you are not“- Joshua
Past, Present, Future
There were days I could not breathe or have a normal day like others. I started to rip my diary and stick it together. Day after day I realize I am creating someone, someone who carries all of my painful memories, someone who cannot talk or complain.
After a while I wanted him to talk, so l look myself in the mirror and I punch the mirror. I glued all the broken pieces on his lifeless body and my diary. I could see myself in each broken piece. Now, his lifeless body could talk more than mine. You just need to look at him, you can hear his voice.
True Lover
I tattoo all of my diaries on my skin, so, no one can hurt or steal it from me anymore. My tattoos will become the witness of not just my story but many others who are doomed to be silenced.
I open my hands in the hope to receive mercy, I look up to the sky maybe I can see a sign from the creator, maybe the creator is doomed to be silent as well. There is no voice, no miracle, no mercy, just too much fear, and blame. It’s just me and my words and thousands of desperate people who want to be loved and accepted.
I open my empty hands and offer nothing except my tattoos, that’s all I have. To me, my nothing is everything and to You everything is nothing. Finally, my heart speaks to me, “There is only one place to look for creator; In the Heart of the True Lover”.
Idol
The Pain from people who are high on religions and think or pretend they know God. They don’t care about True God, they care about the idol that they created in their mind and call it god for their own benefit. They are just machine men with machine minds. They just want us to believe in what they believe so they can control us.
“The true God gave us freedom and the fake god wants to control us“_ Joshua
Bubble
The pain, of having the truth in my hands but living in a bubble. The truth should be carved in my Heart and not carried by my Hands. That was the reason Love came down to live with us, through us, and between us.
“Those who carry love with their hands can’t see love with their heart”– Joshua
Contact us
If you would like to host the Becoming Joshua Art Exhibit, please email us at becomingjoshua27@gmail.com
