My current project is a carving of Jesus' resurrection, which will be carved in public out side Bath Abbey as part of their millennium celebrations. The model shows the moment when Christ rises from the dead, bursting open the tomb and tearing the grave bindings asunder. Literally we see the wraps are off and there is Christ in his true majesty.
Workshop Diary 15 April 2000
As expected the crucifixion is tremendously difficult not least because the anatomy is so distorted. It is so hard to imagine what happens to the body when it is being tortured like this. I have heard some accounts of what happens physiologically, but deciding what this amounts to in the visual sense is not easy .
I see why Christ's death is usually shown in a more metaphorical way, although the mediaeval artists were very much in touch with the physical pain of it all. Christ's sacrifice of his life for us goes way beyond the physical torment of his execution and its is this which is the point one has to engage with. In a way the horrors of the event can block out the meaning of the perfect sinless Son of God taking our sin on himself.
What if instead of dying on the cross Jesus gave up his life for us in bed, say dying in his sleep. This doesn't work either. The manner of his execution does underscore his sacrifice and our sin. So there is the balancing act which makes this so difficult. How much pain and how much glory? What is the visual mix? I have missed the target this time. To much pain and some strange anatomy distract from the story, but I have been able to expand my idea of Jesus.
I will be starting new work in the workshop soon. I have an exhibition in Midsomer Norton to prepare for and a piece about Jacob wrestling with an angel to start.
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