Henry Rosenberg

MFA 2024, Printmaking

Selfish Prophet Syndrome is a restructured narrative that follows overlooked parts of the Prophet Johan’s journey through a humorous lens, provoked by current events and societal behaviors. This body of work investigates Jonah’s stubborn characteristics, my own frustration with the way this story is retold, and highlights differences in scripture, oration, digression, and casual storytelling connecting to the various materials that comprise the displayed artworks.

My interpretation of the Old Testament story focuses on Jonah’s hatred towards the people of Nineveh, using the ancient Assyrian city as a metaphor for discrimination and cultural prejudice. Nineveh usually serves as a screen onto which readers project their own biases, reinforcing feelings of superiority. In turn, it reflects positive self-perceptions by attributing wickedness to others. In Selfish Prophet Syndrome, I want to highlight Jonah as the one who does this kind of projecting.

Traditionally, Jonah’s story is interpreted through themes of repentance, obedience to God, and divine intervention. However, I view it as a narrative highlighting the obstruction of conflict resolution by ingrained, unexamined notions of morality. Jonah emerges as the story’s true antagonist—a prophet of prejudice who defies his prophetic calling out of resentment, denying God’s mercy to his perceived enemies, the Ninevites. This nuanced aspect often gets overshadowed by the outlandish whale dilemma.