“We hope that Conflux will indeed help reinforce the connection between the sacred and anonymous, and heighten that sense of encounter which people already enjoy in English Cathedrals. Most of all we hope that it will exalt the sense of our immediate existence because if we are ever to know God as real in our lives it has to begin right there, with us finding meaning in being everyday people”

“We return to Folly (The Other Self), and I tell him that, from a distance at least, it reminds me of Edward Hopper. Smiling, he affirms that I’ve been trying for a long time to join sculpture into painting’. When we get nearer, I realise that the sun’s radiance makes the ceiling beams in this work cast powerful diagonal shadows across the black-and- white image of the man on the wall. They make him look as if he is staring solemnly through a Venetian blind, as if in a state of wonder. Standing inside Folly and looking upwards, I share this feeling of awe. For the open part of the ceiling provides an inspiring frame for the Cathedral’s sublime spire beyond, a sculptural form which provides Henry’s exhibition with a profound sense of continuity”

“Europe’s cathedrals have long memorialised saints and other figures from Christian doctrine, the common workers whose humble toil helped bring these magnificent projects to fruition are long since forgotten. In this regard, Henry’s works fulfil an important function, momentarily deflecting our gaze from the more familiar sacred objects to settle upon secular figures that subtly evoke aspects of the Cathedral’s ancient past. Man of Honour 199, for example, quite literally elevates a contemporary orange-clad labourer to a plinth at the top of a column doubtless once occupied by a blessed saint.”