Genetic Composition of Christ

Location: Permanent Installation at DeWitt Family

Science Center, Northwestern College, Orange City, IA

Medium: Digital Art on Metal

Size: 36x72 inches

Date: 2021

About the Piece:

For Genetic Composition of Christ, I ventured into the human nature of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we often focus on the divine aspects of Christ as it pertains to salvation. However, I wonder if and how Christ’s human nature informs our salvation, theology, or how we live out our faith. Two questions I explore with this piece:

Was Christ’s genome perfect? Or, in other words, is Christ’s perfect divinity reflected in his genome, making him perfectly human?

Did Christ possess genes that might have predisposed him to certain diseases, enabling him to share in human suffering at the genomic level?

The main image—the face of Christ with a crown of thorns—is based on the depiction of Christ by El Greco in his painting Christ Carrying the Cross ca. 1577-87. In this painting, Christ is depicted suffering as he carried the cross. This image in my piece underscores the concept of suffering by using the nitrogenous bases that code for each gene to create the visual image.

Each of the panels (with the exception of panels 5 and 6), is a different gene. The genes are different sizes, which renders the size of the letters that reference the bases smaller. The gene encoded in each panel, along with their locus and function, are detailed below. (Note, the top panels are numbered 1, 3, 5 and the bottom panels are numbered 2, 4, 6 from left to right).

Panel 1: p53 (17p13.1) is a gene that codes for a cell cycle regulatory protein. This gene is often mutated in cancerous cells, which can lead to uncontrollable cell growth.
Panel 2: ERBB2 (17q12) is a protooncogene that functions in the regulation of cell growth, survival, and differentiation. The expression of this gene is often upregulated in certain types of cancer.
Panels 3 and 4: HLA-DQA1 (6p21.32) and HLA-DRB1 (6p21.32) are genes that code for human leukocyte antigens that play a part in the responses of the immune system and are strongly linked to type 1 diabetes.
Panels 5 and 6: the Huntington locus (4p16.3), which codes for multiple trinucleotide repeats that can lead to Huntington’s disease. This disease is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern and causes severe cognitive degeneration in mid-adulthood.

These mutant genes underscore the concept of disease and were carefully chosen as they reflect common diseases in the Middle East, Christ’s birthplace, where presumably fifty percent of his genes originate. We know that Christ suffered on the cross for our salvation, but did he suffer through some of these diseases? If he did, our connection to him on a human level is deepened through relatable suffering of an illness.

In creating this piece, I wrestled with understanding the relationship between Christ’s humanity and divinity. We may never know if Christ’s genes enabled him to share in human suffering at the genomic level, but it is the broken and raw process of questioning that is beautiful and draws us nearer to God.