Monthly arts column

'Presence: Images of Christ for the Third Millennium'

Linked exhibitions in six cathedrals to celebrate 150 years of BibleLand's ministry. Remaining exhibitions: Lincoln, April 27 to June 4; Durham, July 31 to September 5. There is no separate entrance charge for the exhibitions. Further details from: www.biblelands.org.uk

BibleLands is celebrating its 150th anniversary year with an exhibition of images of Christ shown in six British cathedrals.

Founded in 1854 as the Turkish Missions Aid Society, its first president was Lord Shaftesbury. Today it supports over 50 Christian-led projects throughout the lands of the Bible, where, as a non-denominational charity, it has played a major part in Christian outreach and relief work. The choice of cathedrals as venues highlights both the work of BibleLands and its passionate conviction that Christ should be visible at the core of modern society.

'The title is particularly fitting, not only because it describes well the theme of the exhibitions, but also because it symbolises BibleLands' work in the Middle East. In a part of the world where retaliation and vengeance seem to be more important than forgiveness and reconciliation, BibleLands believes it is vital to support an indigenous presence that demonstrates the love of Christ for all' (Hugh Boulter, Chair of the Trustees).

But BibleLands also has a tradition of valuing the arts; EN readers will remember an exhibition of work by artists-in-residence sent to Bible lands by the Society. The cathedral exhibitions, drawing together major names and others not so well known, continues that tradition.

Sacred spaces

Considering that for many secular visitors they are little more than evocative art museums, cathedrals have not always celebrated the visual arts as they have, for example, celebrated music. Some, like Chichester, are known for their associations with the arts, and there are some fine art works in the cathedral. But when one thinks of the Chichester Festivals of the 1920s and 1930s, it is the names of writers (like T.S. Eliot, Charles Williams and Dorothy L. Sayers), and musicians (like Ralph Vaughan Williams) that come first to mind.

Meryl Doney, the exhibition's Curator, was commissioned to implement the Society's wish for an exhibition that pointed to Christ but also made creative use of the opportunities for displaying visual art in cathedral spaces. She cast her net wide. 'I looked for artists who were either people of faith or were interested in the Person of Christ.' Over 30 artists were chosen, including Brit Art celebrity Tracey Emin, Glasgow painter Peter Howson and public-space artist Antony Gormley.

'Cathedrals are avowedly sacred spaces. They bring to the art piece something that is important', explains Meryl. 'But my main criterion was that each artwork should form an integral part of the worshipping life of the cathedral while it was there. I didn't want it to be a side exhibition in one of the aisles. At Worcester, Martin Rose's paintings were placed on the altar steps. At the centre the Lindsay Quartet performed Haydn's Seven Last Words (the subject of Martin's paintings), with the audience all around.' So in Canterbury, Antony Gormley's piece 'Rise' lay across the Shrine area where Thomas Beckett's tomb once stood and Willie Williams's light installation 'Vigil' formed a vital part of the Easter Eve service.

The exhibitions link in strongly with local art and the local community: thus in Durham the exhibition will include four works from a major retrospective of local sculptor Fenwick Lawson.

Encounter

'I'd like casual visitors to encounter the person of Christ in the terms that the artist has established for that exhibition, and to go away thinking about that. For the worshipping community, I would like it to be a broadening and deepening of their worship experience in that place; so that they can see things differently. Visual arts are very powerful, but they're often absent from churches, except for things like banners. So for worshippers to be able to look at work by an artist like Antony Gormley while they are in the cathedral is quite a step.'

Meryl's choices might raise some eyebrows: Tracey Emin isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think of religious art. But the mix of artists with differing beliefs about Christ reflects well the strange role of cathedrals in contemporary life: at once symbolising a role for Christianity that many would argue no longer exists in Britain, and yet providing a focus for Britain's Christian heritage and the shared spiritual awareness of us all. This is a project that will feed the faithful and challenge the sceptic. Fortunately there's still time to catch the last two exhibitions. For the ones you missed, there's a book of the whole series available on the Society's web site.

A presence in the nation

Sacred spaces

Encounter

David Porter

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