STAIN
Old Cathcart Parish Church in Glasgow and Lahore, Pakistan
Medium :- 10, 000 multi-coloured glass bangels.
Dimensions :- tbd
As in most contemporary European countries, Scotland's
population worships diverse faiths. All of these faiths however,
share the common desire of helping people to make sense of their
purpose on earth and to cope with their daily lives. I want to create
pieces of art that denote 'faith' and acknowledge the existence
of a force that is infinitely greater than any individual being.
In addition, I am concerned with how faith, particularly fundamentalist
versions of Christianity and Islam, is shaping the modern political
process in a way that affects the whole world. Therefore, when Reverend
Neil Galbraith approached me to develop an idea for the South facing
window of Old Cathcart Parish Church in Glasgow, I felt that this
was a real opportunity to convey a strong sense of a particular
tradition of public art i.e. stained glass, as well as reflecting
the 'here and now.'. Stained Glass windows are akin to 'time capsules
of faith' and often illustrate living faith. However, in creating
my piece, I would like it to be regarded as a 'gift of faith' as
opposed to being a gift of the wealthy, as stained glass windows
often were in the past.
STAIN will be international and actively link and circle the relationship between Scotland and Pakistan. It will explore the nature of belief and look at how Islam is practised in Glasgow and examine the teaching of Christianity in Lahore, Pakistan. Two art works will be created to transcend the geographical boundaries in order to question peoples' faith. In Glasgow the permanent work will consist of thousands of multi - coloured glass bangles, (gifts from the female community of East Pollokshields), hanging in front of the South window of Old Cathcart Parish Church to create a curtain of beautiful stained glass effect. In Lahore the temporary work will be determined once a venue is identified.
All my previous work has involved social engagement
with the public. I have a record of successful involvement with
a wide range of communities, often promoting difficult ideas and
displaying my ability to inspire others. Over the last few years
NESTA has allowed me to develop new ways of working with other cultures.
The form this has taken is mainly in relating to a particular place
or certain social aspects of it. Like Terrible Beauty, which is
concerned with cultural longing. STAIN will enable, for the first
time, my working practice to go beyond social engagement, to embrace
the notion of belief. Its international dimension, with considerable
research being conducted both here in Scotland and in Pakistan,
will also be made tangible in a local setting in that direct connections
will be made between two distinct communities in Glasgow i.e. the
Muslims of Pollokshields and the Christians in Cathcart.
Nicola Atkinson.Davidson 2005
Sponsors :- tdb
