This is Lemon Jesus
This thrifted image of Jesus, reworked to hold a painted lemon, began as a quiet act of overpainting with humor and care.
It has become an art piece that has carried — and continues to carry — a feeling of being
welcomed back. Not into something perfect, but into something wholesome: familiar, gentle, and
not asking anything of you.
— Vikki Ward
Compassionate creativity & care
Lemon Jesus is a creative wellbeing practice shaped by compassion, creativity, and everyday care.
It offers gentle spaces for making, reflection, and reconnection — grounded in the belief that small,
ordinary acts can hold meaning.
The work is informed by lived experience, creative practice, and shared presence, and continues to
evolve slowly and relationally.
The Why…
This work exists in response to the weight many people carry — in their being, homes, stories, and lives.
Lemon Jesus creates space to slow down, soften, and tend gently to what is already there.
The way we do things is guided by care, connection, shared humanity, and Te Whare Tapa Whā — recognising wellbeing as relational and holistic.
Originally painted by Pompeo Batoni in 1767, Sacred Heart of Jesus became one of the most widely recognised images of the Sacred Heart. In 2010, artist Vikki Ward thrifted an old printed reproduction of the work and soon painted a lemon in place of the heart. This act emerged during a whirlwind period of serious health struggles, reframed through humour, faith, and lightness in the eyes of Jesus.
The image quickly became a fixture in the flat she was living in at the time, remaining on the bathroom wall for years after she moved out. The face of Jesus, holding the large luminous lemon, bore witness to daily rituals — brushing teeth, washing faces, the intimate rhythms of ordinary life. Years later, the image returned to live with her once again. Still hanging on a bathroom wall, Jesus continues to share these moments, present by the basin, pondering life alongside her.
Newly Established 2026
