Beyond the Ruins- Cathedral Oil on Door Panel 32x80”
Beyond the Ruins- Cathedral Oil on Door Panel 32x80”
Beyond The Ruins: Cathedral
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
This painting began in July 2010 when I was first able to visit the ruins of the Cathedral in Port Au Prince, Haiti. At that time the property was gated and uncleared of the rubble and deceased. After returning to my studio at home, I began the first iteration of the full size painting, using the ubiquitous umbrellas of Haiti as a metaphor of life among death.
In the summer of 2011 I returned to the Cathedral with the my friend and colleague Ned Reade. By this time the rubble had been removed and we were able to paint from inside the Cathedral. I spent much of my time sorting through the small piles of remaining debris and collecting discarded “treasures” of the stained glass windows. It became a game to the local children, who sent me home with a pile of several pounds of glass. I vowed to myself to honor these sacred shards somehow in a work that would be a worthy tribute to these precious and grieving Haitians.
I embedded shards and crushed fragments of the Cathedral’s glass into the painting itself, praying over Haiti with what I might describe as a weeping hope.
2011 Watercolor on site- Bryn
The true “Church” was never a building. It is God’s people, His Body, His Bride. It cannot be destroyed by man, by natural disaster, or hell itself. The Church in Haiti has a vibrant and zealous faith that puts to shame the spiritual ruins of first world nations.
I will not attempt to tell you what these paintings are “all about”, as the best pieces of the work came through me and not from me. I invite you into the conversation, eager to learn from what you discover, and offer some ingredients of the imagery as a start to the dialog...
2010 Watercolor 9x12”
2010 Oil 32x80”
2011 Oil 32x80”