The December edition of The Month, the newspaper for the Diocese of Chelmsford features the Redbridge Advent Art Installation together with the above photo of Bishop David viewing the installation.
Churches in Redbridge have created an Art Installation which will be displayed in six churches throughout the Advent season. Our aim has been to create a restful space that would enable Christians and non Christians alike to relax and reflect as an alternative to the busyness that the Christmas period brings. The theme of light was chosen as a symbol that crosses faiths and cultures which would therefore would have as wide an appeal as possible.
The Advent Art Installation comprises three panels of mirrored perspex mounted on wooden backing panels with the mirrored surfaces painted to an abstract design using differing textures and densities of paint while leaving unpainted areas forming the shape of a star and the repeated word ‘peace’. A quiet, reflective environment will be created around the installation using music, candles and scatter cushions. One of the key concepts of the artwork is that people will become a part of the installation by viewing themselves in these mirrored surfaces.
A meditation on the installation sets out the concepts that we have sought to bring into play: “A Chinese proverb says, ‘It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.’ Darkness and light both feature in this art installation for display in Redbridge churches during Advent.
The sombre colours and rectangular voids of this abstract artwork may recall works by Mark Rothko which hang in Tate Modern. Rothko’s later paintings have often been understood as depictions of the absence of God and the darkness of the world; an impression reinforced by Rothko’s suicide on the day that the Tate received those paintings.
The sombre colours and rectangular voids of this abstract artwork may recall works by Mark Rothko which hang in Tate Modern. Rothko’s later paintings have often been understood as depictions of the absence of God and the darkness of the world; an impression reinforced by Rothko’s suicide on the day that the Tate received those paintings.
St Paul wrote that our experience in life is that of seeing in a mirror dimly; we do not see clearly and our understanding of life is clouded, he seemed to say. That may also be our experience in this installation, where the abstract colour has been applied to mirrored perspex, clouding our ability to see clearly in the mirrored panels of the installation. Yet the poet, Martin Wroe, has written that God can be seen as “the abstract art of paint and poem when our propaganda makes everything clear.”
In the darkness of the abstract design, we can still see reflected the candles, lit within the space where the artwork stands, and picked out on the panels, forming a star, are also lines of clear reflection. The light beaming from the star on the right panel is linked by a line to the repeated word ‘Peace’ on the left. In what ways might there be links between light and peace in the darkness of our world?
What do we see as we look into the blurred and clear mirrored spaces of this installation? Essentially, as in any mirror, we see ourselves, both blurred and distinct. Are we defined by the darkness or are we one of the many points of light reflected in the darkness of this design? Is the reflection of our light blurred or distinct as we shine in the world? In what ways could we become light bringers and peace makers? After all, it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
The dates and times when the Installation will be displayed in Redbridge churches are as follows:
- St Luke’s Church, Baxter Road, Ilford IG1 2HN: 1st 8.30 am – 4.00 pm; 2nd 8.30 am – 4.00 pm; 3rd 8.30 am – 4.00 pm; 4th 8.30 am – 4.00 pm.
- St Alban’s Church, Albert Road/Mildmay Road IG1: 5th 10.00 am –12.00 noon; 6th 10.00 am –12.00 noon; 7th 7.30 am –12.30 pm & 5.30 am - 6.45 pm.
- St John’s Church, Seven Kings, St John’s Road /Aldborough Road South, IG2 7BB: 9th - 10.00 am – 1.00 pm & 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm & 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm; 10th - 10.00 am – 1.00 pm & 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm; 11th - 10.00 am – 1.00 pm & 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm & 7.00 pm - 9.00 pm; 12th - 10.00 am – 1.00 pm & 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm.
- St Andrew’s Church, The Drive, Ilford IG1 3PE: 13th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 14th 12.00 noon – 4.00 pm; 15th 10.00 am –12 noon & 2. 00 pm – 4.00 pm; 16th 10.00 am –12 noon & 2. 00 pm – 4.00 pm.
- St Margaret’s Church, Perth Road/Balfour Road, Ilford , IG1 4HZ: 17th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 18th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 19th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm; 20th 10.00 am – 4.00 pm.
- The Vine Church, Riches Road, Ilford, IG1 1JH: 21st 10.00 am – 11.00 am; 22nd 10.00 am – 3.30 pm; 23rd 10.00am - 3.30 pm.
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Martyn Joseph - One Of Us.
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