Cristo no. 2 [Christ No. 2]

Within the revolutionary context of the 1960s in Latin America, Roda created a series of figurative work––eleven oil paintings called The Christs. During this period many Colombian artists were eager to make artistic and intellectual statements regarding the on-going conflict between guerrilla groups and the military. At that time Camilo Torres, a popular and well-known Catholic priest, had joined one of the main guerrilla groups and was killed soon thereafter. The works in the Christs series, including Christ No. 2, reference the martyrdom of Torres. Like other new figurative artists such as Francis Bacon, Jean Dubuffet, and Leon Golub, in Christ No. 2, Roda fragments and distorts the human figure in order to express his feelings, thoughts, and perceptions on the human condition. By isolating a mutilated, bound, and wounded torso against a flat background, Roda conveys a sense of tension, powerlessness, despair, and tragedy.