Photographs by Philip Dawson & myself
Faith is an exhibition which explores different faiths, religions and belief systems, promoting tolerance and understanding in this unstable world. Huge, expressive portraits show the diverse nature of belief, and allow the subjects to explain their story in their own words. It features people of faith - and no faith … Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, pagans, Rastafarians, atheists and a Zoroastrian. The artist,
Russell Haines, notes that, in painting the series, he came to know his subjects “as people first and foremost.”
First shown at
Gloucester Cathedral, this show is currently at
All Hallows by the Tower in the City of London before moving on to various venues in Cambridge during July. Wherever shown, this is an exhibition that seeks to begin a conversation among people of faith and none by exploring both the diversity of faith, and the commonalities we all possess.
Haines, who originally only took up painting six years ago for medical reasons following a stroke, wants his art to help communities and deliver social impact: “I hope in a small way my art can help the viewer to see past the label and see instead the person contained within the portrait. Each of them is unique and yet also very alike, trying to live their lives in the best way they can. The only difference is how each of them expresses their view of the world. Is that such a big difference?” Russell Haines January 2017
To create this show, Haines painted portraits of over thirty people in Gloucester, where he lives, who represent the diverse faith communities in that city. Personal statements of what faith means to the individual depicted were recorded in the paintings, in writing and on film. Four documentaries made in collaboration with the University of Gloucestershire’s film school complement the portraits, along with other multi-media installations. In addition, a book has been published with the written statements alongside each portrait.
The paintings - like the subject they set out to address – are huge.
Philip Dawson has suggested that “even the impressive scale of these canvasses can’t contain the portraits,” as these “images fizz with high-voltage energy.” Dawson writes that they utilise a “graffiti-style collage of controlled chaos over-painted with multi-coloured, multi-layered strokes” which create “a halo around most of the portraits; incorporating just-visible family photographs, religious symbols, newspaper cuttings, facts and figures and verses from scripture as well as secular texts.”
In this way, the lives of the faithful are exhibited on these canvases, “with all their doubts, contradictions and complexities exposed.” “The style and technique provide a glimpse of what’s going on ‘inside’ the heads of these people, as well as what’s on the surface.” Haines has said that: “Painting each of the participants has meant being in serious conversation with them about their lives and their personal beliefs, how they came to believe and why they believe. Hearing their stories and immersing themselves in their lives, as I painted them, means I have come to know them as people first and foremost.” One of the subjects, Zerbanoo Gifford, a Zoroastrian, explains in the exhibition guide, “I believe that my whole DNA is imbued with my heritage.” This exhibition invites us “to paddle in that stream of consciousness; to share in and continue the conversation in our own imaginations.”
The exhibition includes the first portrait of the
Bishop of Gloucester, The Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, the first female Bishop to sit in the House of Lords. The Bishop, the artist, and
Reverend Mark Paulson, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Interfaith Advisor, all contributed to the exhibition’s Private View. In her speech, Bishop Rachel explained that we can’t re-write previous chapters of the story of humanity - but we can all help to write a new one.
She said that she knows she is a ‘broken’ person and so does not seek to judge others if she doesn’t agree with them – and is therefore not offended by those who hold views that are different to her own. In concluding her remarks, she said: “God has called me by name - my prayer is that you will all become the person god has created you to be.”
‘Faith – An Exhibition’ by Russell Haines is at All Hallows by the Tower until 15 June. Monday – Saturday 10.00am – 4.00pm, Sundays 1.00 – 4.00pm.
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