Showing posts with label houshiary. Show all posts

Saturday, 10 April 2021

Artlyst - Modus Operandi What Makes Successful Public Art: Vivien Lovell Interviewed

My latest interview for Artlyst is with Vivien Lovell of Modus Operandi, an independent arts unit with a track record of curating and producing high-quality art in the public realm, that recently celebrated its 21st birthday. To mark this milestone, the company selected 21 projects at random, spanning the years since Vivien Lovell soft-launched the company.

"A complex project – and there are many to choose from the East Window of St Martin-in-the-Fields by Shirazeh Houshiary with Pip Horne. Replacing the post-WW2 window with a contemporary glass artwork within a Grade 1 listed building meant that permissions were multilayered: no less than seven steps were involved. It was unprecedented being the artist’s first work in glass and on such a scale. This called for collaborators, including the artist’s partner architect Pip Horne; the church’s architect Eric Parry; the glass studio, Mayer of Munich; the fabricators of the steel framework, Benson Sedgwick and the lighting designer Jonathan Coles. The final work has become synonymous with the church’s renewed identity and is recognised as a landmark in public art."

My other pieces for Artlyst are:

Interviews -

Articles -

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James MacMillan - A New Song.

Friday, 27 October 2017

St Martin-in-the-Fields art tour

Last night I gave a group from the Friends of St Martin-in-the-Fields an art tour around the site. I began by putting the artworks and art strategy of St Martin's in the context of modern approaches to commissioning art for churches, concluding that:

"The artworks commissioned for or loaned to St Martin’s have been part of these wider trends and debates. We will see artworks which have come because of connections between the church and the artists involved, as well as commissions from acclaimed contemporary artists. Initially, commissions at St Martin’s were occasional and opportunistic, while from the Renewal Programme onwards they have been intentional and part of our strategic plan. Since the Renewal Programme was completed we have broadened our engagement with the Visual Arts through our programme of temporary exhibitions and by working with artists and craftspeople within the congregation. Our experience, therefore, demonstrates a ‘mixed economy’; sometimes engaging, as Couturier and Hussey did, with artists perceived to be among the best of our time, whilst also working with artists with whom we have connections through our congregation and wider community."

We then viewed work by Mike Chapman, Chaim Stephenson, Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne, Brian Catling, James Butler, Jon Sandford, Donald Jackson, Brad Lochore, Mark Francis, Andrew Motion and Tom Perkins, Eric Parry, Giampaolo Babetto, Gerhard Richter, wood carvings from Driefontein mission and graduate work from Central Saint Martins.

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Machanic Manyeruke - Mukombe Wapfachuka.

Saturday, 24 December 2016

Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition

My latest article for Artlyst is entitled 'Artists Rebranding The Christmas Tree Tradition' and highlights Christmas Tree installations in London by Shirazeh Houshiary, Alex Chinneck and Anthony Gormley:

'Whether your preference is for the traditional decorations and associations of the Trafalgar Tree or for the innovative visual images created by these commissioned trees, London affords this year a breadth of engagement with the sight of decorated evergreens and the gift-giving associated with them.'

My other Artlyst articles are:

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Thea Gilmore - Sol Invictus.

Thursday, 15 September 2016

Terry Ffyffe: The Art of Reconciliation

I spoke tonight, together with Edward Lucie-Smith, at the Private View of 'Painting the Light', an exhibition by Terry Ffyffe, which can be seen at 5th Base Gallery until 18th September.

Edward, who has recently written on Terry's work, focused on the change in direction that it represents, while I focused on its reconciliatory nature:

Two of the paintings in this exhibition have been on show at St Stephen Walbrook over the past ten days as part of the current exhibition by commission4mission and I have greatly appreciated the opportunity to contemplate them there.

I have the good fortune to minister at two of the most special churches in Central London; St Stephen Walbrook and St Martin-in-the-Fields. One of the things I like most about being at St Martin in the Fields is talking with visitors about Shirazeh Houshiary's East Window with its central oval and curved lines. I always emphasize that the artist did not want to give her own interpretation of the image in order that those viewing it should be entirely free to make their own response to it.

Terry's work is similarly rich and capable of sustaining multiple interpretations, so these brief reflections are not intended to close down interpretation by being in any way definite but, instead, are intended to provide one or two of many ways of entering and inhabiting these works.

My first response is in relation to the sense of the fragmentary in these works; with these fragments, whether geometric shapes or free-flowing patterns, then being linked and united to form a harmonised whole. Terry's art is, therefore, an art of reconciliation; a facet of modernism that is, I think, under-recognised in the visual arts whilst being more widely acknowledged as a facet of modernist poetry. David Jones, in describing his poem ‘The Anathemata’, said he had fashioned a ‘coat of many colours’ from a ‘series of fragments, fragmented bits, chance scraps’ that had come his way by this channel or that influence.

With these paintings, Terry has, I think, done the same as this is a key aspect of his ‘Cosmic‘ art which comes from his experience of meditation; of entering the world of ‘liquid light’ where the realization of the unity of all things, the oneness of all creation becomes certain knowledge.

My second way into these works is through the sense that Terry is inspired by organic patterns in nature; both at the micro and macro levels. Inspiration has come as he has looked through the telescope and the microscope. Indeed, one understanding of the rectangles in Background Radiation could be to see them as microscope slides. Terry believes that the patterns of the micro in nature mirror those of the macro: that the patterns and shapes of particles match those found in the great expanses of the universe.

His belief that ‘the beauty of the designs that underlie every aspect of nature … can only be the work of God’ reminds me of Antoni Gaudi who ‘described nature as ‘the Great Book, always open, that we should force ourselves to read’ and thought that ‘everything structural or ornamental that an architect might imagine was already prefigured in natural form.’

Gaudí famously suggested that, 'originality is returning to the origin' and, as a result, based his buildings on a simple premise: If nature is the work of God, and if architectural forms are derived from nature, then the best way to honour God is to design buildings based on his work. That, I believe, has real synergy with the inspirations for this exhibition and is a key reason why these paintings themselves are so inspiring. So, I want to offer my congratulations to Terry on his amazing originality and inspiration.

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Bloc Party - Into The Earth.

Saturday, 19 December 2015

God at the Centre

Here is my article for the Parish Newsletter at St Martin-in-the-Fields this weekend:

One of the unique aspects of my role at both St Martin and St Stephen is the opportunity to celebrate the Eucharist from two artist-designed altars made from travertine marble; Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne’s altar at St Martin and the Henry Moore altar at St Stephen.

The Moore altar, measuring 8ft across and weighing several tons, was at the centre of a controversy and court case as a result of objections and this, eventually, was resolved by going to the highest ecclesiastical court of the land, the Court of Ecclesiastical Cases Reserved where the judges ruled that the Moore altar was acceptable as an altar for the Church of England!

Moore’s altar, made of travertine marble cut from the very quarry which provided the marble for Michelangelo’s work, now stands at the centre of the church under Wren’s dome surrounded by dazzling kneelers by Patrick Heron. These commissions sensitively combine modern and baroque art and architecture contributing to the interplay of circles and squares, light and dark, in the space to create a stunning harmonization of old and new.

Moore’s design was intended for people to gather as a community around the altar where God can be found at the centre. God at the centre of our lives and communities; that is what the Christmas story and the carols we currently singing are all about. At Christmas we celebrate the belief that, in Jesus, God has moved into our neighbourhood, entered our world and come to be with us by becoming one of us. That is why Jesus was called Emmanuel, which means God is with us.

Jesus is the greatest gift that any of us can receive, both at Christmas and any other time in our lives, because by receiving him, we receive God himself.

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Belle & Sebastian - O Little Town Of Bethlehem.

Saturday, 6 June 2015

Exhibitions update

Hide and Seek, coincides with the publication of a monograph celebrating Eileen Cooper’s career, and presents drawings spanning almost 40 years. Cooper creates work that possesses a strongly poetic and distinctive vision, and the artist has been described as a ‘magical realist’. An accomplished painter and printmaker, Cooper’s practice has always been underpinned by drawing. This remarkable body of work illustrates how her distinctive imagery has developed through making drawings that explore such subjects as sexuality, birth, family, fecundity and creativity.

Cross-sensory perception quickens and multiplies in Smell of First Snow, Shirazeh Houshiary’s eighth exhibition at Lisson Gallery. Through painting, drawing and sculpture, Houshiary approaches the intangible and evanescent, articulating a metaphysical reality that lies beyond mere form and surface.

Peter Kennard is Britain’s most important political artist whose imagery has become synonymous with the modern protest movement. The first major retrospective of his work at the Imperial War Museum demonstrates how Kennard has consistently confronted issues in world politics and British governmental policy both at home and abroad, inspiring many of today’s politically-aware artists from Mark Wallinger to Banksy.

Marking thirty years since his first solo exhibition at Flowers Gallery, former official British War Artist John Keane presents a new series of paintings on the themes of power and conflict - Speaking Truth to Power at 21 Cork Street. Keane’s work has been engaged in a dialogue with unfolding news stories since the 1980s, travelling overseas to witness conflicts first hand. His work challenges received wisdom and explores alternative narratives to those exerted by the press - from his representation of the atrocities of war, to his portraits of the people made powerful by their place in and behind the media spotlight. The Wisdom of Hindsight is a retrospective of Keane's work at 82 Kingsland Road.

Zi Ling is a visual artist currently based in Beijing and London, working in watercolour, etching, short film and installation, who has work in the Society of Women Artists 154th Annual Exhibition at Mall Galleries. Following this show will be the New English Art Club Annual Open Art Exhibition 2015 which showcases the work of some of the finest figurative painters at work today, members’ paintings, drawings and original prints are shown alongside work selected from the open submission.

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Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule.

Friday, 5 June 2015

Crossroads: lives which are not linear

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.

Sunday, 15 March 2015

Artistic heritage: St Martin-in-the-Fields and St Stephen Walbrook

One of many exciting aspects to the role of Priest for Partnership Development that I have recently begun is the opportunity to connect with the way in which both churches have engaged with the visual arts.

St Stephen Walbrook is an Anglican Parish Church rich in heritage but one which remains actively involved in the City of London. The current church was built by Sir Christopher Wren 1672-80 and accommodates a major and controversial reordering centred around Henry Moore's circular altar.

After the bombing of World War Two St Stephen Walbrook was restored and the interior was redesigned to express contemporary worship. Most of the fittings had been burnt or destroyed and it meant that seating and altar arrangements could be thought out again. Thus it was that Henry Moore was persuaded to design and carve a central altar using travertine marble from the quarry near Rome used by Michelangelo. Commissioned by Lord Palumbo, the altar was carved in 1972.

The Ven. Peter Delaney has written that by carving a round altar table with forms cut into the circular sides Moore suggested that the centre of the church reflected the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham and Isaac as a prefiguring of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross and the place for the offering of the Eucharist at the heart of Christian worship. This place was designed for people to gather as a community around the altar where God could be found at the centre. The axis of the church is now under the dome designed by Sir Christopher Wren and no longer has an east west orientation. This speaks of this new century where we see God at the centre of all life as the Moore altar is at the centre of this church and this church is at the centre of this city.

The restoration cost £1. 3 million. The altar measuring 8ft across and weighing several tons was at the centre of a controversy and court case as a result of objections and eventually was resolved by going to the highest ecclesiastical court of the land, the Court of Ecclesiastical Cases Reserved where the judges ruled that the Moore altar was acceptable as an altar for the Church of England!

Moore’s altar is complemented by colourful abstract kneelers designed by Patrick Heron and candlesticks designed and made by Hans Coper. The building was finally rededicated in 1987.

Trafalgar Square is well known as the location for the world famous art collections in the National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery. But in the Crypt of St Martin-in-the-Fields there is also a special space for art lovers, as the Gallery in the Crypt’s dramatic 18th Century architecture makes a stunning backdrop to display modern art and photography.

St Martin-in-the-Fields is also home to several commissions and permanent installations by contemporary artists. Nicholas Holtham has written that, as an adjunct to the main renewal project at St Martin's, "an Arts Advisory Panel was formed and a series of commissions have helped to complete the transformation of the building." These include:

Processional Cross, 2013, by Brian Catling: Catling’s exquisite design references a ‘cross of poverty’: not an ornate object, but one crafted from basic materials by someone with the simple desire to fashion the powerful symbol of the Cross. The starting point is two pieces of wood humbly tied together by a length of string; a third piece of wood hanging from the centre provides an allusion to St Martin tearing his cloak in two and giving half to a beggar. Through casting the cross in a strong yet lightweight aluminium and gilding it in white gold, Catling’s original idea is transformed into an extraordinary emblem of the church. Throughout the process the cross has been worked on by hand, creating an original and conceptually complex work.

East Window, 2008, by Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne: The East Window was commissioned as part of the Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields, our major £36m building project from 2005-2008. Light was a key theme of the project and the East Window was designed to let in as much light as possible while creating a work of art that is uplifting and inspirational. The artist was given a brief suggesting a minimal, possibly monochromatic design would be appropriate and that a potential starting point or subject was that of ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, a story which has had a continuous thread of resonance for St Martin’s.

Altar, 2011, by Shirazeh Houshiary & Pip Horne: The Altar is designed by Shirazeh Houshiary and Pip Horne, creators of our East Window, and was dedicated at the Patronal Festival in celebration of our patron saint, St Martin of Tours on 13 November 2011. The Altar is at the symbolic and spiritual heart of our church. It is the place where we gather together in communion with one another and with God, and where broken bread and shared wine become the signs of God’s everlasting love for us. It is a sacred space, the place of transformation, the altar upon which we remember the death of Christ and the suffering of the world, but also the place of resurrection and hope. Designed to complement the East Window, the Altar is made from a single block of Travertine Stone that appears to float on a plinth of dark stained oak. These materials have been selected to harmonise with the colours used in the interior of the church. It is gently illuminated by LED lights placed within the hollowed out stone.

The Saint John’s Bible, Heritage edition, presented to St Martin-in-the-Fields in 2009: Created by the monks of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota under the creative direction of Donald Jackson, the Saint John’s Bible is a union of an ancient Benedictine tradition with the technology and vision of today, illuminating the Word of God for a new millennium of multiple cultures and multiple faiths. St Martin-in-the-Fields has been given a Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible. It was a gift from Saint John’s Abbey made possible by the generosity of Dan and Katherine Whalen. Created in a series of seven volumes, the bible is used in services in Church and some of the volumes are on permanent display in the Foyer. The Saint John’s Bible was commissioned in 1998 by the Roman Catholic Benedictine Monks of Saint John’s Abbey and University in Collegeville, Minnesota. It was created by a team of scribes, artists and craftspeople in a scriptorium in Monmouthshire under the artistic direction of Donald Jackson, one of the world’s foremost calligraphers and the scribe to HM Queen Elizabeth ll’s Crown Office and the House of Lords. Measuring more than two feet by three feet, the bible parallels that of its medieval predecessors, written on vellum, using quills, natural handmade inks, hand-ground pigments and gold leaf while incorporating modern themes, images and technology of the 21st century.

In the Beginning by Mike Chapman, presented to St Martin-in-the-Fields in 1999: Mike Chapman’s beautiful sculpture In the Beginning was commissioned to mark the new millennium and was part of the 1999 Trafalgar Square Christmas celebrations. Carved in a 4.5 tonne block of Portland Stone, this work is now permanently on display at the entrance to the church. In The beginning is well-loved by thousands of visitors to St Martin’s every year and as the artist said “It seemed to me that a tiny life-size baby craved from stone in such an enormous environment would be the best way to remind us all of just whose birthday we are celebrating.”

Shadow No 66 (triptych) 1996 by Brad Lochore: This oil on canvas by Brad Lochore explores the fleeting essence of an object using the effects of light mediated via cinema and photography. Lochore’s paintings poetically underline the impermanence and fragility of our lives, and remind us that although we may recognize real things in such artworks, they are after all illusory. Shadow No 66 (triptych) is on permanent display in the Crypt. Brad Lochore says, “On a metaphorical level shadows are a sign of absence – they indicate the ‘not being there’ of the thing they depict – and that is a very persuasive way to talk about the problem of the picture. For instance, an apple in a painting, no matter how beautifully painted, is not there. It seems to me that a critical part of being a painter is not just to make pretty pictures – it’s to address the problem of pictures. And for me, painting shadows, which is predominantly what I do, is a way I can remorselessly address that dilemma. The dilemma is that the human senses have never been assaulted by so much imagery as now, and I think we forget that. Every minute we encounter a world mediated by pictures, so the ‘real’ is mainly conveyed through images now. And that is not to mourn the passing of a better time, it’s just to recognise how the world is. It seems to me that one of the primary tasks of art is to foreground that problem”

Tapestry by Gerhard Richter: In the Dick Sheppard Chapel, a tapestry by Gerhard Richter has been lent by a generous donor. Rev. Richard Carter writes that the tapestry fills this small chapel with light and energy, warmth and imagination. It is like hanging resurrection on the wall. Sit and gaze at the colours; the cross that leads you through layers into the beyond.

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Nickel Creek - Reasons Why.

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Sabbatical art pilgrimage: St Martin-in-the-Fields

The Revd. Dr. Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, spoke about ‘Art and the renewal of St Martins’ at the beginning of July as part of the International Conference organised by Art & Christianity Enquiry (ACE).

After initial remarks on the theme of art as a plurality of possibility showing what could be by using form, media and idea for creation, appreciation and interpretation, he took John Calvin’s threefold office of Christ as a frame for speaking about art, St Martins and Art at St Martins.

Art:

· Prophet – Art holds up a mirror to society and asks, ‘Are you proud of what you see?’ Art can create a dream of society fulfilled and thereby the painful gap between the ideal and reality. Prophets often shock and some prophetic acts are shocking.

· Priest – We can “heaven espie” through art (e.g. icons). Art enables us to see beyond the stars. It can, therefore, be a sacrament. Through the arts the ordinary stuff of life speaks or sings of the divine. Artists are the high priests of creation.

· King – Art shows what humanity can be when we reach our full potential. Kingly art stretches us and is about glory, as with the roadsweeper Wells encountered who spoke of his love of opera as being “his glory.” Artists construct acts of worship. God is the great artist and each human life is an interpretation and improvisation on the creativity of God.

St Martins:

· Prophetic – Advocacy on social issues.

· Kingly – St Martins is a premier parish church which affirms national culture and identity.

· Priestly – The priestly role is central to St Martins.

Art at St Martins:

· Prophetic – Homage to Soweto by Chaim Stephenson is a memorial to those who suffered during the Apartheid regime in South Africa. Hector Pieterson was a 13-year-old killed in the Soweto uprising in 1976. In the sculpture he is being carried in the arms of a fellow student. The sculpture is a tribute, lament and prayer for victims of injustice and violence. Mike Chapman’s Millennium sculpture on the portico depicts the scandal of particularity found in the incarnation.

· Priestly – Brian Catling’s Processional Cross has been cast in a strong yet lightweight aluminium and is gilded in white gold. In Jesus, God came face-to-face with humanity and vice versa. Jesus is, therefore, the crossroads. Wood went adrift when it was used as a cross. Here drift wood has been attached to the cross; two pieces of wood have been tied humbly together by a length of string – an allusion to St Martin tearing his cloak in two and giving half to a beggar.

· Kingly – James Gibbs’ building signified a new era of church building. Shirazeh Houshiary’s East Window has no direct representation of conventional imagery. The oval is a prophetic image of interruption. It can also be seen as an egg about to burst (a Kingly image). The window governs all it surveys. This cross is a vortex of renewal, a whirlpool of holiness.

St Martin’s has an Arts Advisory Panel for the Art Programme that began under the church’s Renewal Project. The panel is chaired by Sir Nicholas Goodison and also includes Vivien Lovell, Director of Modus Operandi. Other members of the advisory panel include Revd Dr Sam Wells, vicar of St Martin’s; Rod Beadles and Ali Lyon, Churchwardens; Eric Parry, architect of the Renewal Project; art historians Wendy Baron and MaryYule; and Alister Warman, curator.

As part of the renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields by Eric Parry Architects, Modus Operandi was appointed to create an Art Startegy for the Grade I listed church. As a result of a competitive interview process, overseen by the Art Selection Panel, five major new artworks were commissioned: Tomoaki Suzuki’s Christmas Crib, Shirazeh Houshiary’s East Window, a poem by Andrew Motion which was realised by letterer Tom Perkins and set into the balustrade of the Light Well, a new Altar by Shirazeh Houshiary and the new Processional Cross by Brian Catling.

The building won a RIBA London Award in 2009, an ACE/RIBA Award for Religious Architecture, A Civic trust Award and the Europa Nostra EU Prize for Cultural Heritage. It also received a British Construction Industry Award and was highly commended in the Regeneration and Renewal Awards.

In addition to the commissions through the Art Programme, the visual arts also feature in the renewed building in the Crypt Gallery. The Gallery in the Crypt’s dramatic 18th Century architecture makes a stunning backdrop to display modern art and photography.

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Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble.

Friday, 5 September 2008

Church renewal

East Window at St Martin-in-the-Fields

(designed by Shirazeh Houshiary, in collaboration with architect Pip Horne)

The latest edition of RA, the Royal Academy of Arts magazine, features two Church renewal projects that have been overseen by its members.

The first is the well-known and highly successful renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields by Eric Parry RA. It was in January 2006 that St Martin's embarked on the £36 million building project to restore and transform the church and surrounding buildings, and create a new sequence of beautiful, practical and inspirational spaces to serve the community, visitors and those in need. Due for completion at the end of 2008 the project is progressing well, with the restoration of the church almost complete and the new underground spaces open to the public.

Natural light now floods into the church bringing it closer to James Gibbs’s original, much-imitated Baroque design. The glorious decorative plasterwork of the ceiling has been restored; the pulpit relocated close to its original place, to improve the sightlines for congregation and audiences; and the chancel reordered to allow greater flexibility for worship and concerts. The finishing touch for the church itself is the installation of a new East Window, designed by artist Shirazeh Houshiary and architect Pip Horne, to replace the window installed following World War II bomb damage. Other significant new features are a glass-walled entrance pavilion and a remodelling of the crypt to include a new parish hall, rehearsal and office space, shop, and an enlarged cafe.

The second is the sculptor Anthony Caro who, over a period of several years, has been working on a major series of sculptures and architectural features to form part of the restoration of a chapel at Bourbourg in Northern France, about 12 miles east of Calais.

The Chapel of Light is situated in the choir of the Church of St Jean Baptiste. During World War II, a damaged English aircraft crash-landed on the roof of the church in order to avoid the houses in the town, and set it on fire. The church itself was restored, but the choir was separated by a wall from the body of the church and left in ruins until ten years ago. Caro was commissioned by the French Ministry for Culture and Communication to make a sculptural installation that would bring new life to the redundant choir.

Specifically for the project he has designed and built two huge internal oak towers each about 18 feet high. These towers are to be used for musical performances and allow vertical exploration of the church space. Caro has also made a concrete baptismal pool and a spectacular series of steel, wood and terracotta sculptures to fill a series of niches in the walls of the apex to the choir. Various other sculptures complete the east and west naves, linked through a doorway to a large exterior sculpture in corten steel. The sculptures follow the themes of The Creation (relating to the baptismal font) culminating in Adam and Eve.

Caro recognises that this monumental project is an exceptional opportunity for an artist. He stated, 'The light in the church is wonderful and it is such a privilege as an artist to be given a whole space to work with'. Not since Matisse's Chapel in Vence has another artist been given this opportunity."

The Church will be inaugurated on Saturday 11 October 2008 during a weekend of events to include the openings of the three exhibitions in Calais, Dunkerque and Gravelines.

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Gustav Holst - On This Day Earth Shall Ring (Personet Hodie).