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All we need

By Renata Homem1

In the 60’s John Lennon asked for peace, saying ‘All You Need Is Love’. In the Vietnam

War times, he was asked to write a song with a message that could be understood by all

people on the planet, so he did. Almost fifty years later, we still have war in the world.

We have different kinds of war, in different countries, and they are generated among

others, by political disputes, power, territory and religion. The biggest war today is the

Syrian Civil War, joining all this types of conflicts together. Until now, more than 470,000

deaths (of which 13,000 are children) and 4,5 million refugees. The world is going

thought the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.

There are lots of Syrians refugees in Middle East, but they are also going in hordes to

Europe and the Americas. In Europe, and in general throughout the Western world,

there is still a great resistance to displaced populations from the Arab world, for cultural

and religious reasons. The refugees had their life completely changed. They used to go

work, go out on weekends, go shopping, take their children to school, go to their temples

and churches. Now, they are people with no land, no home, no work, no normal daily

activities. Thus, I wonder, how these people can return to a normal life? How can the

rest of the world help or get involved with this issue? How can people from different

cultures and different faiths draw lessons for their own lives and take advantage of

trying to be better people?

For me, art has been one of the answers to these questions. There was recently in London

(February to March 2016), a big exhibition named Stations of the Cross. Through the

memory of the well-known path of Jesus’ on the day of his crucifixion, the exhibition

recreated 14 stations across the city, showing artworks from different perspectives and

creating a ‘New Jerusalem’ in London. Jerusalem, which is a holy city for Jews, is also

sacred to the Christians and Muslims. In this Exhibition, Christ’s journey traditionally

depicted by the Stations of the Cross resonates with the current events concerning the

Syrian refugees, who also felt forsaken by God.

1 Renata Homem is PhD in Art History by University of Brasilia, Brazil. At the time of this essay, she was visiting King’s College London as part of her thesis research.

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The exhibition was an interfaith dialogue itself. It was done by people of different faiths

for a public with different cultures. The artists are Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even

atheists, and since the artworks are placed in cathedrals, museums and public spaces, all

kinds of people can see it. The art on display ranged from Old Master paintings to

Contemporary Art, which also creates interesting possibilities, since we can relate the

works to history, at the same time, we can think about current events.

The curator is a partnership between Dr Aaron Rosen and the artist Terry Duffy. Rosen

got inspired by he’s last book “Art and Religion in the 21st Century” - after realizing

how fruitful the relationship can be between the sacred and profane on art, even when

it begins with religious conflicts generated by situations of exclusion and displacement,

as often happens. So, after talking to Duffy, who used to work with religion and conflict

as well, they developed the idea of the exhibition, and they produced, with their partners

and, of course, the other artists, this grand exhibition in six months. The goal was to

enable people to walk through this intriguing and unexpected path in London, thinking

about the current events in the world, under the light of art and religion, simultaneously.

The exhibition, Stations of the Cross is also part of a bigger project named The Coexist

House, a plan for a new London landmark, that is intended to be a global centre, in the

heart of London. This project has five partner institutions: The City of London

Corporation, the University of Cambridge, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Inner

Temple and the Coexist Foundation. The aim is to change people's understanding about

distinct religious practices, promoting a more peaceful relationship between the

differences.

I am a PhD student on Art History from Brazil, who came to London to study the relation

between art and religion nowadays. I witnessed this wonderful event and what you are

about to read, are my impressions from this beautiful event that had a strong impact on

my life. I want to keep teaching and doing art as well, and now I have a new perspective

for my professional future. I know that a lot of people will disagree with me, but I used

to think that being an artist or art theorist was not an important occupation like others.

Of course, I always believed that art is capable of feeding the human soul, but at the

same time, it seemed to me that the art had no place among so many urgent issues in the

world, as if it were more important feed the body first. But now, I just realized, thanks

to this experience, that art can really change lives. Through reflections raised poetically,

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art can change people's attitude to life, and as life in society is a network, just one thought

generated by a single artwork, can initiate a series of positive actions.

Also, I had the feeling that all we need is this: love and dialogue between people from

different cultures and faiths. These artworks showed me that the interfaith experience

generates otherness, and this is all we need in time of war, refugee crises, so many

displacements and migrations. This exhibition reminds us of the Christian ideas about

sacrifice and love, at the same time it draws our attention to the pain of others. Then, we

can look inside us and make the necessary changes to the way to see and act in our world.

So, let's travel together through this sacred path? As I said, those are my personal

impressions after my experience visiting the artworks, talking to the artists, other

visitors, my family, friends and people involved in the exhibition. I should say also, that

some photos in this essay are not so good because they were taken with my phone, not

professionally. My wish is that those who had not the opportunity to experience this

exhibition, can travel through this essay and in some way, be able to imagine the

artworks and the thoughts generate by it.

Station One - Jesus is condemned to death by the mob

Station One was located in King’s College

London Chapel, and refers to the passage

“Jesus is condemned to death by the mob.”

The artist is the co-curator Terry Duffy and

he made this piece named 'Victim, No

Resurrection?’ in 1981. The piece is a cross

shaped painting four meters high, and in

this Church, it was hanging in front of the

altar. It is an abstraction of the Christ

crucified, but painted with a strange

fervor, aggressive and colorful at the same

time. I did not like the piece when I saw it.

It’s not harmonic, perfect and gentle, like

the thousands of sculptures and paintings

from this image of Christ that we are used

to seeing. But in fact, the real scene is much more about suffering and pain, anguish and

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despair. The murder of Christ cannot be sublime and beautiful through the eyes of

ordinary people, it is really painful. So, that’s why the piece its good, and fulfils its role.

The piece actually makes us think about the real meaning behind it.

Researching this piece more, I knew that it talks about all kinds of victims of conflict.

The painting has already travelled to many places, as part of exhibitions about terrorist

attacks, in honor to the victims. It fits in different times and contexts, and in this

exhibition, Stations of the Cross, can relate to the Syrian refugees and also many

displaced people around the world.

I was there at the opening. the chapel was full of people. At my side, was the Israeli artist

Leni Dothan – to whom I had the pleasure to be introduced that evening - in front of me

a couple from Italy and, on the other side, there was an Asian nun. This observation is

inevitable, because my attention is always drawn to the fact that in London we are

always surrounded by a lot of foreign people. The speeches of the Exhibition producers

were very nice - full of praise and appreciation, as is usual in London. They were talking

in front of the altar, just below Terry Duffy’s piece.

Seeing a contemporary version of Christ hanging inside an old chapel was already

exciting to me, I think that by incorporating current visions of Christ, the Church can

open a channel with present day people, after all, the artist who created that it is still

alive, so everyone can share his impressions of the world, in a greater or lesser degree.

Terry Duffy’s speech was beautiful, he talked about how he, being an artist, can change

things. I got emotional and I was shedding tears silently, when suddenly I realized that

the nun near me was also crying. Sharing feelings with someone with a different faith

and culture definitely generates the idea of unity, which is even more profound in a

mystical and religious context.

This was the beginning of my journey and as you are about to see, on my way to see the

piece everything influenced my perception. The entire experience gives me the sense of

the artwork (which is still temporary and subject to changes). We all know Umberto

Eco’s ‘open work’, which raises the idea of openness - the artist's demand to leave space

for the public participation in/appreciation of the artwork - generating multiplicity of

interpretations and meanings for the piece.

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However, many more things can change the piece’s meaning: the history and the energy

of the place where it is being exhibited, the public reaction, all the visual information

nearby, the environmental characteristics like light, sound, smell, temperature, etc.

Besides that, all the information that I learned about the piece added meaning to it: the

artist background, the reason of the material used, the creative process and of course,

the concept itself. In a few words: context changes everything. Concerning art, the first

impression is not what counts.

Station Two - Jesus takes up his cross and begins his journey

I was there at Parliament Square with my

family to see the Philip Jackson sculpture

of Mahatma Gandhi (2015), regarding

Station Two. Once again, I observed the

typical plurality of London: many groups

from different cultures, each group

stopping in front of the statue that has

much meaning for them, to take pictures

for keepsake. Amongst the statues of

Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln and

many others there is one of Gandhi. I felt

happy to see this Indian martyr there. At

first, it seemed to me very respectful to

have this Gandhi statue in a public space,

after all, he is the Indian five independence

icon, and to have his statue, kind of represents a recompense for the troubled past

between the two countries. Besides, Gandhi is known throughout the world for his non-

violent policy and is an example for everyone. I came from a country that is far from a

peaceful place (in fact, is one of the most dangerous and violent nations in world) but

everyone in Brazil sympathizes with Gandhi and his peaceful ideas. I also think that the

identification with Christian ideas are perfectly possible. Despite the discussion about

pluralism versus exclusivism on religion, everyone may agree with the fact that just as

Christ, Gandhi used to accept, love and fight for all kinds of people, with different beliefs

and religions.

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I loved the other sculptures by Philip Jackson when I was researching about him, I

immediately related his sculptures to the ‘V for Vendetta’ style (the amazing graphic

novel that shows a truly and complex political relation under an astonishing and

intriguing design). His statues always have this angular and elegant shape, displaying

drama and mystery. The Gandhi statue does not show this style at all, but,

coincidentally, when I was with this ‘V for Vendetta’ style in my head I found a curious

essay about the Gandhi memorial at Parliament Square.

The essay said that this memorial was not so honest and consistent with the real

diplomatic relations between India and UK. This author, Priyamvada Gopal, published

in The Guardian saying that this sculpture was used to conceal lucrative contracts made

on this occasion, which for her, fortifies the idea that India was always subservient and

overwhelmed by the UK. Gopal says that from the past, until today, India has been

suffering various types of violation by the British policy stance, who, in her opinion, uses

Gandhi’s canonization to ‘obscures the links between capitalism's military-industrial

complex social hierarchies and state violence’. (GOPAL, 2014) Anyway, I love the fact

that this statue is there. Because at the same time that Gandhi taught us the

‘nonviolence’, he also encouraged all to defend our rights. Thus, his image there reminds

us that we have to leave in piece, but keeping our eyes open, always.

Station Three - Jesus falls the first time

Just after seeing the Gandhi sculpture, we went to the Methodist Central Hall Chapel to

see the James Balmforth piece regarding Station Three. The piece named Intersection

Point, made in 2015, is a

small cross made from steel.

The sculpture was lying

against a wall at the back of

this quiet room. We did not

understand the piece at first,

and we thought it was very

simple. However, the

simplicity of the piece was

intriguing, so my husband

and I started to think and

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discuss possible meanings. Why the cross is diagonal, why it is white, why it is made

from steel, why the borders are slightly burned, why it is so small, and why is it here in

a Methodist Chapel?

We presumed that the object was lying on its side to represent Jesus’s falls. Then we

guessed that the white color represents peace, regarding Jesus purity, and the burned

part symbolize fire, destruction and war. This cross is not made from wood like the

original one, but since steel is a heavy material, transmits a certain hardness, which

makes sense in the suffering context.

We also agreed that it makes sense to show a minimalist piece in a Methodist Church,

since the Protestants do not have the focus on image (but instead, the Gospel). The silent

and empty room also contributed with the formal neutrality, concision and simplicity.

The room gave us the impression of being a meeting room, kind of a community study

place, so, as we know that the Methodist Churches used to be Ecumenical (accepting

people of different faiths) the piece seemed to be very well installed. After all, the simpler

the artwork, the more open to different interpretations.

Station Four - Jesus meets his mother

I went there with my colleague, who is

doing his MA in Theology and

Religious Studies, and the visit was

even more interesting because of the

discussion that we had on the way to

Westminster Cathedral. We were

talking on the tube about the impact of

some churches and cathedrals’

exuberance. Sometimes I have this

feeling that when the architecture and

decoration are too sumptuous, its

more about art and less about religion. So, I told my colleague this impression, just to

speculate how visual information can affect people (without deepening on religious

meanings about iconoclasm versus imagery worship).

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My point is that when a church spends too much effort on decoration, our attention is

drawn to the architectural design, the magnitude of pieces, the complexity of mosaics,

the beauty of stained glass, the intricacy of frescos, the perfection of statues and all the

other beautiful details. Therefore, I think we may forget other religious meanings like

the Christian teachings about material detachment, simplicity, poverty, humility and

charity. Against this perception, my colleague argued that first of all, every church is the

house of God, second, the decoration does not distract us from religious meanings, and

finally, he reminded me that in many religions the temples are incredibly decorated with

thousands of details and an incontestable artistic richness. He cited the Middle East

Mosques as examples, which made me remember also the monumentality and

exuberance of Hindus and Buddhists temples that I visited in India and Nepal.

When we left the station and

turned the corner, I suddenly saw

this beautiful Cathedral, byzantine

style, so different from the usual

London’s landscape. When we

entered, I felt a delicious incense

smell and the sound of prayer

through male voices, made the

atmosphere even more relaxing

and mystical. Inside the church I

could see many different kinds of

marble, in everywhere. I was also

amazed with beautiful mosaic

panels. Between so many attractive features, we had difficulty looking for what we went

to see: the artwork relative to Station Four. The piece that we should have seen was the

sculpture ‘Jesus meets his mother’, made by Eric Gill, who had his first major

commission carving the 14 Stations of the Cross at Westminster Cathedral (1914-1918).

Of course, we also saw all the sculptures, one by one, while we whispered our

impressions.

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Station Five - Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross

I should say that this was the least

interesting piece for me. Of course, the

visit was valid because the artwork

refers to the main subject of the

exhibition (Stations of the Cross), it is

beautiful, kind of intriguing, and The

Wallace Collection is very Londoner,

so from the tourist point of view was

very interesting seeing this place.

However, unfortunately I could not

make any interesting links. First of all, I had difficulty finding the piece because I thought

it was big, and in fact, it is really tiny. The display is not the best one because the glass

in front of the piece made it difficult to see, the piece was inside a kind of cabinet (this is

the disadvantage of the ‘collections’ spaces, the pieces are not displayed properly like in

a museum or gallery).

When I looked closely, I found the work

very delicate and beautiful, but I did not

know at the moment that it was not

chronological, so I was a little confused.

Later I read that the subjects depicted came

from the Old Testament (Genesis 3: 6, 23),

The Fall and Expulsion, and also from the

New Testament (Gospels), the life and

Passion of Christ, with no chronological

sequence. I also spend some time to found

out the one that was interesting to me, and

then it was there, in the second column, at

the last line: ‘Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus

carry the cross’.

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I also read that the piece was made by an unknown workshop in Limoges, France (c.

1570- c.1625) and represents the French style from the late fifteenth to seventeenth

centuries, influenced by the Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) Small Passion Series (which

comprises 37 woodcuts).

Station Six - Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

I went there alone and I was looking

forward to seeing the sculpture,

because I knew that I would like it, so I

was getting around Cavendish Square

eagerly searching for it. The Jacob

Epstein sculpture, Madonna and Child

(1950-52) is beautiful and ugly, strong

and delicate, strange and curious at the

same time. I loved it. I did not

understand why it was related to

Station Six, but I liked the fact that this

piece was part of the exhibition, even

looking like it was not the exact match

for it. I started to observe the sculpture

across the street and then I got close. I

wished I could see it really close, to observe the details of such a strong, vigorous and

expressive sculpture. Epstein was a modernist sculptor and he had inspiration from the

Cubists and the so-called ‘primitive art’ – which is a bad way to reference art from Africa,

and other societies considered archaic by the Eurocentric vision.

Epstein is known for his controversial work and his art was often considered

inappropriate. When it comes to religious artworks, he always left some Christian

offended. This sculpture was controversially commissioned for the reconstruction of the

Convent of the Holy Child Jesus, in Cavendish Square. This Convent was bombed in the

Second World War, and the architect Louis Osman was called to rebuild the place and

create a linking bridge across the mews, so he had the idea to place Epstein’s work on

the bridge’s façade, but he had no authority to commission the artwork himself which

caused a further artistic controversy.

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I think the rereading and the deconstruction of religious symbol can cause discomfort,

but at the same time, can create profound thoughts and intangible meanings. For us, art

researchers, all that is strange and unusual can generate reflections and changes. In fact,

the art cannot live without it. The classical images of Madonna and Child are beautiful,

but this was before the Autonomy of Art (by the way, today we already have theories

about the Post Autonomy). Now, the role of art is to mediate and when it comes to the

relationship between art and religion, the function of art is even more interesting.

As Bhabha says, the interpretations provided by art raises deep questions about the

authority of the artwork (so common in the old days) considered religiosity. Now, art

can open the perspective from outside to inside, bringing closer the relationship between

divinity and us. As he explains: ‘The disclosure of agency in language and visual

representation, achieved through the absolute dissymmetry of the signifier and the

signified (the gaze and the look, the sign and the symbol) is also a displacement of any

anterior or binary relation between God and me, art and spectator, or artist and object.’

(BHABHA, 1996, p. 13)

Station Seven - Jesus falls for the second time

Visiting The National

Gallery on weekends is

definitely not the best

idea. It is so full of people

that is impossible stay

more than thirty seconds

in front of an artwork

without anyone passing

in front of you and the

noises around are also a

little bit disturbing. I saw

the Jacopo Bassano’s

painting The Way to Calvary (c. 1544-5), relative to Station Seven, not with the calmness

that I would like, but I wanted to see this piece and learn more about the theme.

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Since the disturbed environment affected the way that I viewed the piece, at first, I only

could think about how chaotic and troubled was Jesus’ path. I had this thought about

chaos, that when we want (or need) to meditate, we have to do this in the exact place we

are, we cannot run to a silent, and empty room. Thus, coming back to reality, I had to

make an effort to access the religious meanings in that particular painting.

The painting is not chaotic itself. On the contrary, its harmonic, naturalistic and delicate.

The colors are not so strong nor weak, the body and fabric shapes are soft and the

depicted scene has a delicate movement. Reading about the piece, I knew that the image

shows the moment that Jesus fell to the floor and Saint Veronica (actually Berenice) lends

her veil to dry his face. The name Veronica comes from the Latin words “vera” and

“icon”, which means truth and image, in other words ‘true likeness’. The painting

regards the apocryphal story about the image that allegedly was generated in the

Berenice’s veil, transforming this into a Sudarium, what I found really interesting.

Station Eight - Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

I already said context

changes everything? Can

you imagine a better place to

think about interfaith

dialogue than in a French

Church, in a Chinese

neighborhood, in a British

city? How about thinking of

Christ's path of suffering,

relating this to the painful

course lived by victims of

war and other cross-cultural conflicts, regarding subjects like displacement, helplessness

and loneliness while you see homeless people escaping from the street’s coldness to

taking a nap on the Church pew? I was there at Notre Dame de France Church, in

Chinatown, on a cold and rainy day (not unusual in London) to see the work done by

Jean Cocteau in 1959. Station Eight of this exhibition is represented by the work inside

Our Lady’s Chapel: three beautiful paintings representing The Annunciation, The

Crucifixion and The Assumption.

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Station Eight refers to when Jesus was followed by a great multitude of people on the

way to the Calvary, including the women who wailed and lamented him, so he turned

to these women and said to them: ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep

for yourselves and for your children’ (Luke 23:28). The experience of women is

accentuated at Our Lady’s Chapel’s paintings and actually, only the legs of Jesus appear

in the Crucifixion scene. The focus is clearly on the women suffering, so I think this

station was very well represented.

This Church is also a home of

the Notre Dame Refugee

Centre, an independent charity

center which aims to receive

asylum seekers and refugees

(French-speaking and others)

so they have the opportunity to

integrate into the society, have

help to solve their problems

and achieve a better quality of

life. Seeing these beautiful

paintings by Jean Cocteau, just beside the sleeping homeless people had much more

meaning and power in this context. Whilst viewing the paintings regarding the women's

anguish, the place, to me, looked like a real mother’s heart, welcoming the needy as her

own children.

Station Nine - Jesus falls the third time

This Station located at the St Giles’ Church’ terrace, in the Barbican Complex, which is a

very interesting place in London. Once more, my mind travelled. It was impossible not

to remember my own town, Brasilia, Capital of Brazil. Just like my city, the Barbican has

this Brutalist architecture, from the modern movement of Concrete Art. This style is an

influence of the Russian Avant-garde and highlight Brasilia’s history and culture,

because of the utopian project that built the city. For those who grow up there, like me,

this means a lot. I also remembered Kandinsky, who taught at the Bauhaus, participating

in the diffusion of modernist's architecture and design, and spread the idea that the spirit

leads to abstraction, which leads to concrete. Kandinsky is a link between the spirituality

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and art on Art History, and this is all about the subject of the Stations of the Cross

exhibition, which unite art and spirituality through religion. I was feeling at home and

the same time rethinking about the Concretism movement and spirituality just before

getting to the church terrace to see the artwork. I also thought amazing the contrast of a

medieval Church in a modern space.

The work is a huge sculpture

by G. Roland Biermann

made specially for this

exhibition. The sculpture

named Stations (2016) was

composed of 84 red oil

barrels on a steel platform,

with a huge cross made from

twenty meters of crash

barriers motorway leaning

against the wall of barrels. I

went there for a discussion

with the artist and my colleague and I arrived late, so unfortunately, I did not spend

much time seeing the artwork. But immediately after getting inside the church and

listening to the conversation about the artwork, the image in my mind was clear and full

of sense. The artist said that the oil barrels can symbolize petroleum and the conflicts

that it generates, and I thought this idea very interesting. He also said that the shape of

barrels together becoming a wall, referring to the obstacles of war. The gradient of the

red barrels is clearly a reference to blood, which reminds us at the same time, of the

blood of Jesus and the blood of victims of war. The cross, made with this huge motorway

crash barrier leaning, represents the heavy burden of Jesus and relates other kinds of

accidents.

I thought the sculpture very harmonic, concise, well finished and conceptually coherent.,

Later, I read that the Barbican was built in an area of London that was destroyed by

bombing in the Second World War, and today this complex is a symbol of post-war hope

and utopian aspiration. After all, this work, with such a strong concept and aesthetics,

could not be more settled in a place like this.

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Station Ten - Jesus is stripped of his garments

This is the kind of work that I try to avoid (unconsciously) being a mother. Actually, I

have been avoiding all the news about children on the Syrian War (I just cannot see it, it

is overly sad). However, since we have to face reality, seeing this piece was very

important.

I got courage to see the work, and before going out to check the piece personally, I took

some time to research it online. I also thought that I could cry at my place before, with

some privacy (by the way, seeing the work online first did not work! I cried again when

I was in front of the piece).

The work, Sea of Colour

(2016), consists of a big

tapestry made from baby

clothes by the artist Guler

Ates. The piece was

located at the Salvation

Army International

Headquarters, but before

being fixed on the wall,

the piece fulfilled its own

crossing. The artist, some

friends, volunteers and

even passers crossed the

Millennium Bridge and back to the Salvation Army holding the tapestry. The journey’s

video is very impressive, because it shows the huge difficulty generated by a super

strong wind making the performance even more challenging. What made me cry was

the fact that the baby (probably Gules Ates child) was crying during the crossing, the

sound of baby crying in addition to the fight against the wind, seemed the perfect symbol

to the real tragic events that occur with the refugee children. This artwork can be

understanding under the ‘Diasporism’ theory. I had never heard it like an Art

Movement, before watch (as a visitor student) the MA classes on Religion and

Spirituality in Modern Art, taught by Dr. Aaron Rosen at King’s College London, but it

makes all sense like an artistic tendency.

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Basically, the author R. B. Kitaj recognize on the art history, a lot in common in the art

made by artists who are displaced for some reason, as emigrants or refugees, for

example. The word ‘diaspora’ comes from the the dispersion of Jews and is also used to

define every people who had to live outside the area where they had lived for a long

time, for some reason. Thus, Kitaj says: ‘If a people is dispersed, hurt, hounded, uneasy,

their pariah condition confounds expectation in profound and complex ways. So, it must

be in aesthetic matters.’ (KITAJ, 1989, p.36) This author says also that the Diasporist Art

works as a reaction to ‘one’s transient restlessness, un-at-homeness, groundlessness’,

like a ‘contemplation of the transience’ condition. As Turkish, the artist Guler Ates know

very well the condition of being an immigrant and she also witnessed the conflict in

Middle East. Besides, this specific artwork concerning the serious problem experienced

by refugees who cross borders. Therefore, it seems coherent associate this work to the

Diasporist tendence. This tendency is outspread as an important discussion about the

marginalized artists. This subject has been explored by many authors, like Aaron Rosen,

Bell Hooks, Gayatry C. Spivak, Homi K. Babha, Renée Green, and others. In Rosen’s

book cited here before, there is a chapter named Cultural Identities, that explores the

relationship between art, religion and the artists who had been excluded by the

mainstream. Some artists, who does not fit in the Eurocentric pattern, can often be

considered as exotic, kitsch and even primitive. In this book you can see some good

examples of how creative the outsider art can be.

Station Eleven - Crucifixion: Jesus is nailed to the cross

I was there at St Paul’s Cathedral to see the Bill Viola’s and Kira Perov’s work three

times, but the best visit was in the company of Dr. Carolyn Rosen and other three

visitors. I was invited to do a ‘discussion tour’ and I had the pleasure of

participating in this experience. I just love the fact of those contemporary artworks

inside the churches, giving the work a special atmosphere. I am saying this because

at the time we entered to see the piece, there was beautiful organ music playing,

and even the whisperings, along with little noises of people’s movements inside the

cathedral, offered a special meaning to Bill Viola’s piece. Then, we discussed the

piece and some of the subjects that I present now.

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The piece named Martyrs (Earth, Air, Fire, Water), was done in 2014, but it is actually a

continuation of a project started at 1996 as a work named The Crossing. At the Stations

of the Cross exhibition, this piece was formed by a polyptych panel showing four

simultaneous videos of seven minutes on a vertical array of screens. Each video shows

a different kind of suffering (or sacrifice) caused by the four elements. The performers

started stationary, so each element action started and grew gradually, affecting more

and more the performer, but in all cases, they actually do not show much discomfort or

distress. It is as if they were suffering, but with resignation.

This piece regards the strongest symbolic station for me. I think that we are not capable

of imagining the suffering of Jesus during the crucifixion, in cold blood. So, we can ask

(as people from that time): ‘Why the Son of God allowed himself to get this point,

accepting, without resistance, being nailed to the cross?’ And probably the most

reasonable answer is:

‘To tell us, with his life,

what is true love’. He

taught us (among

thousands of things),

how to suffer and how

to transform suffering

into love and faith.

After that, we can also

ask ourselves ‘what

kind of sacrifice are we

willing to make in the

name of love?’

Bill Viola’s choice of work with the four elements, is for the mystical symbology that is

common in both Western and Eastern religious mythology (in which he has always been

interested). Most of his works raise these mystical ideas. He used to say in his interviews

that he normally works with this spiritual world subject, to allow people to look at

themselves and try to meditate about what really matters in life. He also used to say that

he believes in the power of connectivity, and he aims to touch as many people as he can

in the world.

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As cited before, like Bhabha says, on art, the relation between signifier and signified has

to be balanced and non-authoritarian. Those mystical symbols can easily work for

people from different faiths and cultures. However, Professor Ben Quash (2013) - who

participated in some events of this exhibition – reminding us that the analogies are not

universal, besides, the signs of transcendental categories can change the significance

over time. He also says, regarding Kant and Pierce, that we do not access the things, but

their meaning, so the sign comes to mediate the necessary subjective experience. Maybe

that is why artworks have so important a role in this relationship between society and

religion, after all, it can mediate perfectly our experience of things, without strict rules.

Station Twelve - Jesus dies on the cross

Unfortunately, I did not organize myself and I went to the Tower of London at the wrong

time, so I did not see this artwork personally. The Chapel Royal of St Peter Ad Vincula

was closed so I took the opportunity to explore the Tower with some Brazilians friends,

who had come to visit me

in London. Even not

seeing the piece, I already

knew what it was about, so

I was observing the place

and thinking how

controversial this piece

was, exhibited at the place

chosen for it.

As one of the comments

that people made about

the piece says: ‘perhaps

the last thing a tourist

would expect to find at the

Tower of London is this’. Tourists from many places come to see the Palace and its

towers, the British Royal’s history, the ‘nutcrackers’, the guards with medieval costumes

acting, and mostly, the crown jewels. The visitors certainly do not expect to see a piece

of contemporary art inside a chapel that is supposed to be traditional and royal as the

hole environment, let alone a naked and bald-headed Christ hanging.

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The sculpture made by Guy Reid in 2007, named Crucifixion, is life-size, and is made

from wood. The first strange fact is that this Jesus is bald-headed – as he was the model

himself for the sculpture carved in relief, that represents Jesus crucified. The second

unexpected detail is that the male sexual organ is exposed. This work has everything to

be controversial. This is perfect for Art Criticism (as we need the theoretical conflict to

move forward), but not so much for some religious people. Whilst nudity can be the

most natural thing for one, to others, it can be very offensive, mainly when it concerns

Christ. If you google this work you are going to see the polemic reviews about it and this

is not a new fact in the art and religion world. Among many artists, Bill Viola, Chris Ofili,

Damien Hirst and Andres Serrano were already considered Anti-Christ, accused of

blasphemy or heresy for their controversial artworks.

Jungu Yoon give us these four examples to show how controversial the relationship

between religion on art can be until nowadays, and, about nudity he says: ‘While

attitudes towards nudity are not the same in all cultures, its acceptability depends on

the cultural and/or religious traditions, which dictate what is proper and what is

improper’. (YOON, 2010, p.19). He also says that even the analysis of Christian history

can show us that nakedness itself its not immoral or disapproved by God, some artists

had serious problems with this issue, some of them were even forced to close down their

exhibition.

I know, Guy Reid’s piece did not have such a dramatic reaction, but the title of an essay

‘Send Him to the Tower’ shows us, ironically, how this piece may have impacted the

conservatives. The essay’s author, Michael Petry, says that the artist’s choice to use

himself as a model had the goal to humanize the image of Christ, since he was divine, as

well as a unique human being (I consider it essential for ordinary people to recognize

themselves in Christ so they can better assimilate their ideas). Michael Petry also raises

an interesting fact: the sculpture’s penis is circumcised. Although the artist did not say

why, I guess he did it to remind us that Jesus was Jewish, just in case we had forgotten

this – It could explain the attempt to make more and more people feel affinity with Christ

(including Jews and people of non-Christian religions).

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Station Thirteen - Jesus is taken down from the cross

I had the opportunity to see this wonderful

artwork twice. The piece, done by artist

Michael Takeo Magruder especially for this

exhibition (2016), called Lamentation for the

Forsaken, was located at the Anglican Parish

Church of St. Stephen, Walbrook. The first time

I was there with Dr Carolyn Rosen (who is

studying at Anglican theological college to

become a priest), and three other visitors, at the

Stations of the Cross ‘discussion tour’. We

were welcomed by Reverend Jonathan Evens

and it was really interesting to hear his opinion

about the piece and the artist. He said that

although the artist is not Christian, he was able to offer a beautiful and deep point of

view of Christian teachings.

The second time, I had the opportunity to hear a

conversation between Dr Carolyn Rosen and

Michael Magruder. The artwork consists of a

horizontal polyptych lying on the floor made from

four TV screens. Each screen shows forty images of

the Syrians, layered with text and parts of a negative

image of the Turin Shroud (which form the entire

image of Jesus with the four pieces together). So,

between questions, he explained his choices. The

choice for the number forty comes from Christian

Theology. The use of the text shows actual names of

thousands of dead victims of War, so it is a way to

honor their memory.

He decided to use the Shroud image because it could be easily recognized by everyone,

in relation to the thirteenth Station, besides, the Shroud raises questions about faith and

beliefs. The choice of using Christ’s image in four parts (besides technological reasons)

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was to relate each part of Jesus’ body to the Syrian scenes and events. The head of Jesus

is layered with victim’s portraits. The chest of Jesus is interposed with the Syrians

carrying their children in their arms. Together with Jesus’ arms and hands, are the

photos showing people helping each other. Christ’s legs and feet display pictures of the

refugee’s paths and journeys.

The option to entitle the piece “Lamentation for the Forsaken” was because he did not

want to restrict the possibilities to the religious point of view. He was touched by the

Bible’s passage Lamentation 5, but he immediately related it to people’s suffering

nowadays, the war victims. When asked about why he chose a Church to place his piece,

Magruder answered that the sacred place induces people to think in a deep way, and as

an artist he takes on this ‘position of do people think about things?’. Therefore, not only

Christians can appreciate this piece, as Christ’s history is known by many cultures. He

also said that the religious subject works as a cultural tool, to attract people to the theme.

Magruder’s piece ‘Lamentation for the Forsaken’ works as a memorial to the Syrian war

victims, as he said, ‘it is a tribute to those who died and an empathy with those who

stayed’. And, as the curator Aaron Rosen says, the impulse to make memorials, spans

ancient times to nowadays. Besides, the kind of memorial made by Magruder is even

more interesting as he works with religious subjects, focusing on cultural and social

conflicts. As Rosen explained: ‘Alongside this tradition another mode of remembrance

has gained momentum in recent decades: one that focuses less on valorization and more

on engagement.’ (ROSEN, 2015, p.183)

Station Fourteen - Jesus is laid in the tomb

I entered this beautiful medieval church (The Temple Church Triforium), and after a few

steps I saw some graves, apparently, in memory of the dead buried there. I only knew

later that this church is based at Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. But the moment I saw it,

this image seemed very strange to me. Just before that, I saw a homeless man sleeping

on the floor, in the corner, even more strange. When I came close, I realized it was not

real, it was part of Leni Dothan’s work.

The artwork called Crude Ashes was done in 2016, by the Israeli artist, especially for this

exhibition, and could not be in a better place to feature Jesus’ tomb. I was at a private

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visit with the artist, with not so many people in that mystical, calm and strange place. I

followed the artist up (I have to say that I love those medieval spiral stairs, so common

in London) and just after arriving in the upper level, I saw the main piece.

The installation consists of some fake homeless people distributed on the Church floor

plus the main piece, which is a video projection on a circular screen. The video shows a

life-size woman (barefooted, dressed in black clothes) standing, holding a little boy

(dressed like her), who is lying in her palms, both together forming a cross. The image

is rotating clockwise and both bodies are turning, although they do not maintain the

same position. They keep inert and stretched while the image rotates, so they leave the

perpendicular position and gradually they assume opposite directions, then, they come

back to the initial position. The boy subtly escapes from her hands, but he does not fall.

At first, she is with her eyes closed, then she opens them and at the end, when he comes

back to her arms, she closes her eyes again. The woman is the artist Leni Dothan and the

boy is actually her son.

The screen’s frame is made from concrete (which is a common material for Dothan’s

works) and it immediately alludes to a tomb. For me, the material also has a hardness,

rawness and rudimentary aspect that I consider very interesting. She told the visitors

that Jesus was not buried alone, but his mother was buried with him. Instead of doing a

literal and obvious representation of the Fourteenth Station, she decided to do this in a

different way.

Although the main image is a representation of Christ crucified, obviously the piece talks

more about the mother than the son. Dothan said that we can relate this mother suffering

with all mothers that lost a child and had to survive after that. In fact, the real mums do

not have super powers, only the Holy Mother has the capacity to show resignation, and

such a peaceful countenance, whilst holding her own dead child in her arms. The

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question that Dothan raises is exactly that: Should all mothers in the world follow this

behavior?

Perhaps on purpose, Dothan’s face at the video also does not show much expression,

even when the child’s body releases her hands, she just opens her eyes, nothing more.

The image is intriguing because we expect that the boy to drop down when they are

spinning, but he does not. It looks like she does not have control of him. Nothing

dramatic happens, but she still seems vulnerable.

In another time, in one of the Stations Exhibition events, at Kings Place, Dothan said that

the classical Mother and Child’s images depicted were widely publicized and sustained

by the media, fixing a behavior model to be followed by women. She explained that she

does not intend to confront religious meanings, or say what is right, but she just wants

to raise questions about women’s role nowadays. The classical picture of Virgin Mary’s

expression shows control, serenity, faith and fearlessness. So, she asks us: Can the real

mothers do this?

I agree with her, because if you think carefully, since the mothers of the profane world

are not capable of giving birth as virgins, they cannot sustain such resigned behavior

either. To believe and encourage this, we can unintentionally, suppress and overwhelm

women.

What I will take with me

As we could see, this great exhibition was able to create not only the interfaith dialogue

between people from different cultures, but also bring the Christian values to everyone.

We saw classical religious art and also what has been produced current religious art. It

was amazing to see old churches receiving contemporary artworks, allowing the clergy

and faithful to rethink sacred values, strengthening them in their hearts. The

humanization of some artworks can really touch people from the divine ideas. The

sacred and the profane found in this exhibition a beautiful place to co-exist.

This experience helped me to understand the current global issues and be more

empathetic to others. Before this exhibition, I did not used to think about the Syrian War

or the refugee’s crisis. I think I used to avoid it, because besides being very sad, I had the

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excuse that my country already has a lot of problems. Then, I realized that my behaviour

was a little ignorant and selfish, just as thousands of people who do not have the

opportunity to get closer to the issue.

We may not have money to help the needy people, but we do have time, hands, smiles

and eyes. They are not invisible people, they are just by our side on the tube, on the

footpath, or in the supermarket. Sometimes they are holding their pain, but if we pay

attention, we are going to find a way to help them, even in a subtle and gentle way.

Furthermore, I will take with me, on my way home, the real experience of the art as

mediator between me and religion. I used to study it, but I had such few opportunities

to live it. The personal contact with the art in a religious context gives me tools to

contemplate my own life. As Bill Violla says: ‘We have to reclaim time itself, wrenching

it from the "time is money" maximum efficiency, and make room for it to flow the other

way – towards us. We must take time back for ourselves; to let our consciousness breathe

and our cluttered minds be still and silent. This is what art can do and what museums

can be in today’s world’. (VIOLA, 2004 p. 254) That is what this exhibition did to me.

REFERENCES

BHABHA, H. K. (1994). The Location of Culture. London; New York: Routledge. _______________. (1996) Aura and Agora: on negotiating rapture and speaking between. In FRANCIS, R. (1996) Negotiating rapture. The power of art to transform lives. Chicago: Museum of Contemporary Art. ECO, U. (1989) The Open Work. Translated by Anna Cancogni. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. GOPAL, P. Does Gandhi really belong in Parliament Square? The Guardian. Posted: 11/07/2014. Available from:<http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/ 2014/jul/11/gandhi-parliament-square-india>Accessed 30 April 2016. HONG XIN, C. Interview with Bill Viola. Transcendence and Transformation. Posted: 15/02/2013. Available from: <http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/newsfeatures/ interviews/bill-viola-moca-north-miami/> Accessed 30 April 2016. KANDINSKY, W. (1938) Concrete Art. In CHIPP, H. B. (1984) Theories of Modern Art. A Source Book by Artists and Critics. Oakland: University of California Press.

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KITAJ, R. B. (1989). First Diasporist Manifesto. New York: Thames and Hudson. PETRY. M. Send Him to the Tower. Huffington Post. Posted: 13/02/2016. Available from:<http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-michael-petry/send-him-to-the-tower_b_9216478.html>Accessed 30 April 2016. QUASH, B. (2013) Found Theology. History, Imagination and the Holy Spirit. London: Bloomsbury. ROSEN, A. (2015) Art & Religion in the 21st Century. London: Themes and Hudson Ltd. VIOLA, B. As quoted In BAAS, J.; JACOB, M. J. (2004) Buddha Mind in Contemporary Art, Berkeley: University of California Press. _________. The Crossing. Khan Academy. Available from: <https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/global-culture/conceptual-performance/a/violathe-crossing> Accessed 30 April 2016. YOON, J. (2015) Spirituality in Contemporary Art. The Idea of the Numinous. London: Zidane Press Ltd. WEBSITES http://syrianrefugees.eu/ http://www.billviola.com/ http://www.coexisthouse.org.uk/ http://www.coexisthouse.org.uk/stations2016.html http://www.gulerates.co.uk/ http://www.notredamerc.org.uk/ http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/middle_east http://www.syriahr.com/en/ http://www.takeo.org/ http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/sir-jacob-epstein-1061 http://www.unicef.org.uk/