Silver Candlesticks

This piece draws its title from the story of the bishop in Les Miserables, where choosing mercy over justice changed the course of a life. The silver candlesticks, given freely, represent a way of seeing that refuses to reduce a person to their worst act. They reflect a Christianity rooted not in condemnation, but in redemption. Visually, the work is centered on the rose window in the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, a traditional symbol of divine light and order. The architectural structure in the background suggests stability and tradition - solid, upright, and grounded. In contrast, the sweeping lines of a railing in the foreground are fluid and relational. Together, they represent two paths within Christianity: one defined by structure and control, and the other by movement, mercy, and transformation. The question is not which system is correct, but how we choose to see another as rules and principles live in coexistence. Do we look at others as fixed and defined by failure, or as unfinished and capable of becoming? Like the bishop in Les Miserables, this work invites the viewer to choose the harder path. To see light where it is not obvious. To extend mercy where it is not earned. To believe, as Christ does, in the possibility of transformation - not just in others, but ourselves. The candlesticks are not depicted literally, but symbolically. The light in the window stands in their place. The question the piece poses is whether that light will be guarded, obscured, or given freely.