Image: Shadows of the Wanderer 2008. Polychromed wood. 260 x 390 x 608 cm. All works are Courtesy of the artist and Pratt Contemporary Art.
Ana Maria Pacheco at Chichester Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral
LARGE SCALE SCULPTURE INSTALLATIONS
A 32ft Broads cruiser, occupied by ten figures and a child, adrift without power or crew. Four young adults voyage in states of wonder, anxiety and contemplation, whilst five large white robed figures appear watchful; we wonder if they might be guides to lead us to an unknown realm.
Study of Head (John the Baptist III) 1992. Polychromed wood. 31.8 x 50.8 x 74 cm.
My first opportunity to work with Ana Maria Pacheco and Pratt Contemporary came in 2012 when Salisbury Cathedral, in collaboration with The Ageas Salisbury International Arts Fair, exhibited The Longest Journey. This installation comprises a longboat, a 32ft Broads cruiser, occupied by ten figures and a child, adrift without power or crew. Four young adults voyage in states of wonder, anxiety and contemplation, whilst five large white robed figures appear watchful; we wonder if they might be guides to lead us to an unknown realm. This work was sited in the North Transept. The title of this installation comes from D H Lawrence’s poem The Ship of Death; ‘ Build then the ship of death, for you must take the longest journey to oblivion….’
The Shadow of the Wanderer installation at Chichester Cathedral in 2016 was powerful and thought provoking. The sculpture installation was dramatically sited in the North Transept with the huge transept window bathing the ten over life-size darkly robed figures in natural light. These figures surround and bear witness to the struggle of a young man carrying an old man on his shoulders, recalling the tale of Aeneas, who carries his father Anchises from the burning ruins of Troy, leading him toward a safe haven.
This work also resonated with the plight of refugees fleeing from places of destruction today. The displaced, the wanderer, the nomad who carries his own history on his back looks toward a new transformation.
Untitled - Study for Shadows of the Wanderer, 2002. 183 cm, Polychromed wood.
Study of Shadows of the Wanderer, 2006. 114 cm Polychromed wood, gold leaf.
Be Aware – Envy, 2017 28 x 38 cm Polychrome wood.
Study of Requiem (John the Baptist I), 1989. 48.3 x 50.2 x 38 cm. Portland stone, silver leaf. Sited above the high altar at triforium level.
Study of Head (John the Baptist II), 1990. 315 x 69.8 x 68.8 cm incl base. Polychrome wood.
Longest Journey at Salisbury Cathedral 2012 in collaboration with Salisbury International Arts Festival. The Longest Journey 1994 Polychromed wood. 320 x 335 x 975 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Pratt Contemporary Art.
Longest Journey at Salisbury Cathedral 2012 in collaboration with Salisbury International Arts Festival. The Longest Journey 1994 Polychromed wood. 320 x 335 x 975 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Pratt Contemporary Art.
Our collaboration continued with Dispersing the Night at Salisbury Cathedral in 2017. The exhibitionbrought together a series of different installations and was inspired by hope and a firm belief in the positive side of human nature, making us aware of our vulnerability as well as illuminating our humanity. The various works reflected on the way we frail yet brave humans deal with our journey of life, its contradictions and dimensions of reality, empowering us to harness our inner strength.
Pacheco also premiered her Be Aware series, seven polychrome wooden tablets which illustrate our weaknesses and the perils of life. In contrast The Enchanted Garden portrayed an imagined world of endless possibilities. Shadow of the Wanderer filled the South Transept.
“We are delighted to be supporting this timely and poignant installation at Chichester Cathedral – Visitors will experience not just their own reaction to the two desperate figures that flee, but also the varied and complex reactions of the other carved figures that witness their suffering. How we choose to respond to refugees is one of the most important questions on our national and international agenda.”
Be Aware - Sloth ,2017. 28 x 38 cm. Polychrome wood, gold leaf.
Study of Requiem (John the Baptist I), 1989. 48.3 x 50.2 x 38 cm. Portland stone, silver leaf. Sited above the high altar at triforium level.
Video: Be Aware Series, Seven Deadly Sins. 7 x 28 x 38 cm Polychrome wood and gold leaf.
Be Aware - Gluttony, 2017. 28 x 38 cm Polychrome wood.
Longest Journey (detail) at Salisbury Cathedral 2012 in collaboration with Salisbury International Arts Festival. The Longest Journey 1994 Polychromed wood. 320 x 335 x 975 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Pratt Contemporary Art.
The Shadows are figures in black who belong to our nightmares and to memories we hold deep within us, while the two leading figures, father and son, are leading the group to a new life away from the darkness and catastrophe.
Three head studies of John the Baptist were placed in various locations. Study of Requiem (St John the Baptist I) shows St John as forerunner, anticipating and preaching the arrival of the new Messiah. Study Head (St John the Baptist II) placed above the Prisoner of Conscience Window is a reminder of St John’s imprisonment by Herod. Study of Requiem ( St John the Baptist III) is the final phase, the lifelike severed head sits on a platter, depicting the execution of St John.
An untitled sculpture in polychrome wood with gold leaf was placed in the Trinity Chapel. A young white stag sits at the feet of a female figure draped in white robes. The white stag is steeped in English folklore, something elusive, yet desired.
The exhibition was opened byDame Marina Warner DBE FRSL FBA English historian, mythograher and art critic
“She has been best known for groupings of figures that stand tall over us, seeming stronger than ourselves and more fearfully alive. Conversely she may confront us with items that lie prone and at our mercy, a severed head on a dish, for instance. But confrontation is not the mode of Be Aware, the present project. Here we come upon little figures interlocking in self- contained internal worlds. The imaginative propositions stay closer to those of the painting and printmaking that Pacheco also practices.”
Photography by Ash Mills