'Journey' is a group show by commission4mission artists at All Hallows by the Tower from Tuesday 16 to Saturday 27 October. The exhibition can be viewed during the church’s normal opening hours – Mon – Fri 10.00am – 6.00pm, Sat – Sun 10.00am – 5.00pm (except during services). The Private View is on 15 October, beginning at 6pm.
The title and theme for the exhibition can be understood in terms of journeys that are emotional, pilgrimage, personal, biblical etc. We encouraged our artists to reflect broadly on the theme and 23 artists have responded with imagery that ranges from birth and death (the journey of life) to geographical journeys (including street scenes), plastic pollution (blown or washed around the globe), and Stations of the Cross, among others. A mix of abstract and representational imagery has been created, utilising ceramics, collage, digital illustration, drawing, painting, photography and sculpture.
The exhibition includes work by Ally Ashworth, Hayley Bowen, Harvey Bradley, Irina Bradley, Cathie Chappell, Christopher Clack, Valerie Dean, Jonathan Evens, Mary Donaghey, Maurizio Galia, Michael Garaway, John Gentry, Laura Grenci, Barbara Harris, Deborah Harrison, David Hawkins, Anthony Hodgson, Mark Lewis, David Millidge, Dorothy Morris, Janet Roberts, and Henry Shelton.
‘6 years and 26 miles’ by Hayley Bowen depicts the pilgrimage of 15 year old Mary Jones, a girl from a poor Welsh family, who in the year 1800 walked 26 miles barefoot to the town of Bala (and back again) across rough countryside to buy a copy of the Welsh language Bible from The Rev.Thomas Charles after saving up for one for six years. The story inspired the founding of the British and Foreign Bible Society.
David Hawkins and Dorothy Morris both make use of household plastics in their work. David writes: "2018 has seen carrier bags become the latest culprits of pollution. Yet, backlit by the sun they become angels, and remind us to look for ‘heaven in ordinary’. The Celts celebrated the sacred in everyday life. Even our plastic bags ‘caught in a thicket’ can pose as messengers on Jacob’s ladder, in Mary’s parlour or over the shepherds’ fields. As Donald Allchin used to say, ‘the mundane is the edge of glory’."
Dorothy Morris says of her work: "These little paintings tell the story of the journey of our household plastics ending up polluting our seas. I live in an idyllic place by an estuary and one day I went for a 20 minute walk and collected 3 bin bags of rubbish! From this walk I have created 30 6x6 canvas images altogether, which I combine in sets of 4 images."
During the period of the exhibition we have also organised City Art in Faith: A Guided Walk of selected churches in the City of London, 2-4pm, October 25th 2018. Meet at the entrance of All Hallows-by-the-Tower, Tower Hill. Guided by Mark Lewis, artist and lecturer. No charge but donations appreciated. This walk will include seven churches and Mark will give a brief historical context for each of the churches visited and discuss the contemporary works of art to be found there and the artists who produced them. We will also see examples of contemporary commissioned street sculpture while walking between venues. Churches to be visited: All Hallows-by-the-Tower – St Edmund King and Martyr - St Mary Woolnoth – St Stephen Walbrook – St Lawrence Jewry – St Mary-le-Bow – St Nicholas Cole Abbey. All churches feature in the City of London “Art of Faith” walk.
Our AGM will be held at 2.00pm at All Hallows by the Tower on Sunday 28 October. At the AGM Mark Lewis will provide information about next year's commission4mission Art Retreat with the Othona Community in Bradwell-on-Sea (7 - 10 May 2019).
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Johnny Cash and U2 - The Wanderer.
