Station V: Condemned • Old Holland Oil on Belgian Linen • 1220 x1830mm • (Aus) $9,900

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Station V: Condemned

The weigh-in is a crucial moment before any fight. It establishes the pretext of a fair contest, assuring that both fighters are within the same weight class, and also provides the platform for the first public viewing of the fighters prior to the match’s beginning. The robes come off and the man is revealed. The moment carries with it an undeniable anticipation of violence. The honed, conditioned boxers weighed in face certain pain, sweat and blood momentarily in the ring.

As such it is the perfect scene to represent the fifth Station of the Cross, 'Condemened,' in which the Roman governor Pontius Pilate presents Jesus before the assembled Jewish community. In its manner of perspective, the work reflects the historical setting, as Jesus was presented to the Jews, presumably from a balcony. We share this viewpoint, looking up at the boxer as he is weighed in.

The figure of Pilate is represented by the ostentatiously dressed manager, whose purple hues evoke the power of imperial Rome. Pilate is alluded to further in the lituus symbol adorning the scales, an object featured on Pilate’s coinage, derived from the shepherds staff but now ironically aligned with the Good Shepherd in an allusion to the intersection of earthly and heavenly kingdoms. A glass with no water beckons questions of complicity and societies thirst for wealth.

Jesus’ Roman guard is represented by the assistant weighing in the boxer, simultaneously removing his robe and sliding the weights (with historical dates, not kilograms, marking the poignancy of the moment). His actions quote those of the guard in Caravaggio’s Ecce Homo who disrobes Jesus after the mocking. His light-toned garb contrasts with the predominantly dark attire of the promoter, symbolizing the two extremes to which Jesus is destined.

The boxer’s steady gaze convicts the viewer of his own complicity in the coming events. From our position we could easily be betting punters, whether aware of it or not, about to profit from the imminent act of injustice. Just as the promoter’s unrepentant, perhaps arrogant stance and absence of water prevents any pretense of innocence we find ourselves confronted by the piercing eyes of the boxer, unable to escape our conscience, morally isolated in a crowd of one, for all we know.