Like many of us at St Martin-in-the-Fields I have enjoyed beginning to peruse and reflect on ‘The Bridge’ exhibition which will be with us until 31st July.
When an exhibition includes lots of works, as does ‘The Bridge’ with 47 pieces, it is easy to be distracted from the piece you are viewing by other works nearby that have not yet been seen. However, art rewards contemplation, so on my first view I thought I would focus on one image rather than the totality of the exhibition.
‘Crossroads’ by Azadeh Ghotbi is an abstract painting in which cubist planes in yellows and greens combine to form the sinuous curves of crossing and connecting paths. Each coloured line, Ghotbi writes, ‘represents a person with a unique story, cultural background, belief system and sensibility.’
The painting derives from her own personal experience as someone who was born a Muslim, attended a Catholic School, married an atheist, and whose bridesmaids were Muslim and Jewish respectively. As a result, the painting depicts the interaction of our lives; lives which, as she says, ‘are not linear’ but which cross, bridge and impact each other.
Various statements have been made in philosophy and art
suggesting that God does not move the world in a straight line or build in
straight lines. These statements are contentious in terms of the natural world
but make absolute sense when applied to building or sustaining community. If we
live along straight lines only, we effectively live parallel lives. This may be
why I recently heard someone apply this phrase to the curved lines of our EastWindow.
So, while it is here, do have a good look at Azadeh Ghotbi’s ‘Crossroads’ and see what it suggests to you both about the nature of our community here at St Martin’s and the relational God that we worship.
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Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz - God Gave Me Everything.
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