Hlafria Shcherbak’s “Noli Me Tangere”
In 2023, Ukrainian artist Hlafria Shcherbak was commissioned by Saint Vincent Archabbey to create Noli Me Tangere. According to the Gospel of John, Mary of Magdala is the first to encounter Christ following the resurrection. After initially mistaking Him for a gardener, Mary tries to embrace Christ but is told, “Stop holding onto me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17). Behind her, Christ’s burial shroud lies within an empty tomb. Beneath an early-morning sky, the artist includes nine angels symbolizing divine fullness.
Shcherbak’s treatment of Noli Me Tangere fuses previous examples from Western sources with traditional Byzantine iconography¾visualizing the hybridity of Ukrainian Greek Catholicism. Created shortly after the death of the artist’s fiancé, killed while fighting in defense of Ukraine, she described the process of the icon’s competition as “a whirlwind of experiences, rethinking, and acceptance.” Despite enduring tremendous loss caused by the protracted war in Ukraine, Shcherbak and her contemporaries in Lviv continue to create and exhibit icons as acts of faith and resistance.
To view more of Scherbak’s work, visit iconart-gallery.com.