Paintings

for Chichester Cathedral

solo show

June 2021

These paintings are worked on in many layers, on a rough surface of plaster, referencing the walls of the cathedral and their ancient graffiti.
The computer screen can only hint at their texture and the visceral impact of their presence as solid, material objects.

The dates, initials and other ciphers, incised into the plaster, evoke the feeling of a direct link with those who made them spontaneously, on the actual stone walls. Some are playful, or random, like the doodles of bored pilgrims, others record the presence of individuals who like ordinary people the world over and from time immemorial, consciously want to record their presence in a particular place.

The ‘light’ that appears to shine through and onto the surface of these works, convey in an elemental way the coexistence of the tactile and material with the intangible and spiritual. This series of paintings as a whole points to the possibility of hope in dark times: the triumph of light over darkness.