International Times: Touching the Void – Communicating with a loved one, post-mortem

My latest interview for International Times is with the artist Alexander de Cadenet:

'I know that art has traditionally held a sacred function to communicate and share something about someone well after they’ve passed – it’s something that comes to mind when you look at a portrait by Rembrandt, Vermeer or van Gogh for example and it’s also a theme inherent within monumental equestrian sculpture designed to honour military heroes and rulers for future generations. The idea of legacy is present within these works. It’s completely possible for the art about someone to become part of their legacy and as an artist you can contribute to their ongoing legacy through your work.'

For more on Alexander de Cadenet see my ArtWay article, Artlyst interview, a conference report, a visual meditation for ArtWay, and three exhibition previews here, here and here.

My earlier pieces for IT are interview with artist, poet, priest Spencer Reece, an interview with the poet Chris Emery, an interview with Jago Cooper, Director of the the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, a profile of singer-songwriter Bill Fay, plus reviews of: 'Down River: In Search of David Ackles' by Mark Brend; 'Headwater' by Rev Simpkins; 'The Invisibility of Religion in Contemporary Art' by Jonathan A. Anderson; 'Breaking Lines' at the Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art, albums by Deacon Blue, Mumford and Sons, and Andrew Rumsey, also by Joy Oladokun and Michael Kiwanaku; 'Nolan's Africa' by Andrew Turley; Mavis Staples in concert at Union Chapel; T Bone Burnett's 'The Other Side' and Peter Case live in Leytonstone; Helaine Blumenfeld's 'Together' exhibition, 'What Is and Might Be and then Otherwise' by David Miller; 'Giacometti in Paris' by Michael Peppiatt, the first Pissabed Prophet album; and 'Religion and Contemporary Art: A Curious Accord', a book which derives from a 2017 symposium organised by the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art.

Several of my short stories have been published by IT including three about Nicola Ravenscroft's EarthAngel sculptures (then called mudcubs), which we exhibited at St Andrew's Wickford in 2022. The first story in the series is 'The Mudcubs and the O Zone holes'. The second is 'The Mudcubs and the Clean-Up King', and the third is 'The mudcubs and the Wall'. My other short stories to have been published by International Times are 'The Black Rain', a story about the impact of violence in our media, 'The New Dark Ages', a story about principles and understandings that are gradually fading away from our modern societies, and 'The curious glasses', a story based on the butterfly effect.

IT have also published several of my poems, including 'The ABC of creativity', which covers attention, beginning and creation, and 'The Edge of Chaos', a state of existence poem. Also published have been three poems from my 'Five Trios' series. 'Barking' is about St Margaret’s Barking and Barking Abbey and draws on my time as a curate at St Margaret's. 'Bradwell' is a celebration of the history of the Chapel of St Peter-on-the-Wall, the Othona Community, and of pilgrimage to those places. Broomfield in Essex became a village of artists following the arrival of Revd John Rutherford in 1930. His daughter, the artist Rosemary Rutherford, also moved with them and made the vicarage a base for her artwork including paintings and stained glass. Then, Gwynneth Holt and Thomas Bayliss Huxley-Jones moved to Broomfield in 1949 where they shared a large studio in their garden and both achieved high personal success. 'Broomfield' reviews their stories, work, legacy and motivations.

To read my poems published by Stride, click here, here, here, here, here, and here. My poems published in Amethyst Review are: 'Runwell', 'Are/Are Not', 'Attend, attend' and 'Maritain, Green, Beckett and Anderson in conversation down through the ages'.

I am among those whose poetry has been included in Thin Places & Sacred Spaces, a recent anthology from Amethyst Press. I also had a poem included in All Shall Be Well: Poems for Julian of Norwich, the first Amethyst Press anthology of new poems.

'Five Trios' is a series of poems on thin places and sacred spaces in the Diocese of Chelmsford. The five poems in the series are:

• 'Barking';
• 'Bradwell';
• 'Broomfield';
• 'Pleshey'; and
• 'Runwell'.

These poems have been published by Amethyst Review and International Times.

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Michael McDermott - The Future.

ArtWay: "Hands Touching Hands" – Jonathan Evens reflects on ‘Touching the Void’ by Alexander de Cadenet

"Hands Touching Hands" is my latest article for ArtWay which reflects on ‘Touching the Void’ by Alexander de Cadenet.

I have been collaborating recently with de Cadenet, a visual artist who has been exhibiting his artworks internationally for the past twenty years. His work reveals an exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions such as the meaning of life and death, the nature of human achievement and the sacredness of art itself. He has said that “Art is way of exploring what gives life a deeper meaning and evolves in relation to my own life journey.”

'Touching the Void', the installation on which we have been collaborating, is an installation de Cadenet has created in response to the death of his father. Its central image is of father and son reaching towards each other created using actual X-rays of each other's hands. The work explores the extent to which contact one with the other continues following death.

For more on Alexander de Cadenet see my Artlyst interview, a conference report, a visual meditation for ArtWay, and three exhibition previews here, here and here.

My other writing for ArtWay can be found at https://www.artway.eu/authors/jonathan-evens. This includes church reports, interviews, reviews and visual meditations.

ArtWay.eu has been hailed "a jewel in the crown of work in Christianity and the arts," and having come under the custodianship of the Kirby Laing Centre, the much-loved publication has entered an exciting new chapter in its story following the launch of a new website in September 2024.

Since its founding, ArtWay has published a rich library of materials and resources for scholars, artists, art enthusiasts and congregations concerned about linking art and faith. Founded by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker in 2009, ArtWay's significance is reflected in its designation as UNESCO digital heritage material in the Netherlands.

In 2018, I interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker for Artlyst on the legacy of ArtWay itself.

In the video above, the ArtWay team recounts the history of this much-loved resource and looks ahead to an exciting future for ArtWay.

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Bob Dylan - Man In The Long Black Cloak.

Post-pop exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions

Unicorn Publishing Group have recently published a monograph on the work of Alexander De Cadenet written by the renowned art historian Edward Lucie-Smith and looking at the evolution of De Cadenet’s work in painting, sculpture and photography over the past 20 years. 

De Cadenet's works are both profound and humorous, as if directed by a mischievous jester spirit. In the book, we see how his art combines exploration into philosophical and spiritual questions, such as the meaning of life & death and the nature of human consciousness, with an idiosyncratic, 'post-pop' aesthetic.

The book was launched last night at the Andipa Gallery where, as part of an exhibition of his works, de Cadenet unveiled the first in a new series of skull portraits featuring King Richard III of England based on the x-rays made of the late monarch following his discovery beneath a car park in Leicester in 2012.

De Cadenet says, "The portraits challenge the traditional facility of art to keep the life/identity of a subject alive in the minds of future generations - as they present a forensic X-ray record of the subject's remains as opposed to a recognisable likeness of their face.

For me, Richard III is one of the ultimate skull portraits and I feel honoured to be able to present him using this concept as he is a part of our country's history."

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King's X - Over My Head.