Rochester: Art Gallery & Cathedral

Detail of Lucy Brown's 'Limbo' Installation in 'Thread Bare'

Detail of Lucy Brown's 'Limbo' installation in 'Thread Bare'

Rochester Cathedral (exterior)

Sergei Fyodorov's fresco

Madonna and Child with Bobbie Cox's 'Meetings' tapestry

One of Jacqui Frost's 'Rites of Passage' series

Rochester Cathedral

Textiles were the primary media on offer on a visit today to Rochester's Art Gallery and Cathedral.

Thread Bare at the Rochester Art Gallery brings together the work of Craig Fisher, Lucy Brown, Joanne Haywood and Judith Dwyer, who use textiles to explore the human condition, gender-related concerns, relationships between past and present and narratives constructed around personal and cultural identity. Contradictions and ambiguities abound in each artist's work. Craig Fisher's soft, sculptural installations question representations of violence and macho stereotypes whilst Lucy Brown explores the complex issue of female identity, reworking vintage garments into abstracted, figurative forms.

The Craft Case at the Gallery presents a diverse programme of small to medium-scale, high-quality, contemporary applied arts in two bespoke showcases. During Thread Bare the Craft Case features Judith Dwyer's unsettling 'Dangerous Dolls and Dogs' created from luxury fabric and recycled objects, and Joanne Haywood's eclectic jewellery, which draws on the conflict of opposites for dramatic effect.

Rites of Passage by Jacqui Frost at Rochester Cathedral is part of a series of Cathedral Exhibitions which aims to provide exhibitions in textiles that will enhance the experience of everyone who sees them. The art work tells a story which may be in picture, word or sound format. Each of the exhibitions is put together using a Bible theme and aims to be contemporary and accessible to all. The challenge is to tell each person a little bit more about God and also by way of a Christian Enquiry Agency freepost reply card to invite a response, particularly from those who do not know Christ as their Saviour. Each theme is put on a series of up to 10 screens, the whole work is commissioned by the Deo Gloria Trust and then loaned to the various partner Cathedrals for a given period. The finished screens are hung on specially designed stands that fit into and with the architecture and style of the Cathedral.

Also at Rochester Cathedral to mark the new millennium and to celebrate the 1,400 years of Christian worship, pilgrimage and prayer on the site, the Russian iconographer, Sergei Fyodorov, completed the painting of the first real fresco in an English cathedral for 800 years in 2004 and this is now on view to the public.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

World Party - Put The Message In A Box.