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About the Painting
祥 (xiang), meaning “auspicious,” is often displayed to usher in good fortune.
Yet, Tam invites us to see its divine meaning through its composition. While “羊” refers to a lamb, “礻,” originally derived from “示”, means “to reveal” and also represents divinity as in “神”(shén), meaning God.
Tam thus uses brave brushstrokes to reflect the unabashed revelation God longs to reveal to us through the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, suggesting how it is the Lamb (羊) on the altar (礻 ) that brings in the ultimate blessing—knowing Christ. The shape of 礻also reminds her of the staff carried by the Good Shepherd to tend to His sheep—us.
While the red version of this artwork mirrors the blood of Passover and Christ who saves us from death, the white version speaks of the purity the Lamb of God clothes us with. May we see our ultimate blessing (祥) in the revelation of the Lamb of God alone.
“I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15)