Exhibition theme inspires artists faith and good works

By GRAHAM REID

From primitive times to the present day, man has searched for an expression of spirituality or communication with God through art.

And that broad notion of spiritual themes in art is the overarching idea of the sixth biennial art exhibition, appropriately showing at St George's Presbyterian Church in Takapuna.

Specifically entitled Re-Formation, it coincides with Reformation Sunday, when churches of the reform tradition reconsider the meaning of the 16th-century Reformation, its consequences and contemporary relevance. The biennial exhibition features painting, sculpture and photography by 22 well-known New Zealand artists , who were invited to exhibit by the prime mover behind the long-running scheme, sculptor Helen Pollock.

Twelve years ago Pollock was approached by a church member who asked why she no longer attended. She turned the question around and asked why churches didn't have art exhibitions. And the idea of exhibiting art which explored spiritual dimensions was born.

"There seemed to be an equal desire on the part of the churches and the artists to explore these ideas, and the artists are trying to bring a different, fresher perspective every time. The intentions of the church and the artists overlap, and when you consider the Reformation period, it came after a time when drama, the visual arts and music were considered to have detracted from the word of God."

Rev Matthew Jack, of St George's, notes, "a Reformation principle was that the truth of God finds fresh expression in every age.

"Where art connects is you have artists with different spiritual expressions they are attempting to articulate."

Pollock and Jack agree there is a spiritual hunger within communities and although it is often not spoken about, it elicits a powerful response when the matter is raised. "Whenever anyone utters the sound, people suddenly have a lot of energy and are prepared to discuss spirituality in very deep and meaningful ways," says Pollock.

"And for the church there is the constant challenge to make meaningful connections with people who don't turn up on a Sunday," says Rev Jack.

"It's an invitation show," says Pollock, "but everyone I've asked over the years has had a very positive response and I seldom get a refusal. The spiritual theme means we see work which is not exclusive to Christian imagery but have had portraits and landscapes included because that is how people feel their spirituality, through people and a great sense of nature. People can find their spirituality at the beach and in the trees."

Given those broad parameters, it is not unexpected to find the artists' works in the current exhibition are various: Robert Ellis' large, flat-plane work suggests the Grail but includes wrapped sweets in the foreground, John Madden's iconographic candles recall an altarpiece, there are landscapes and moonwashed abstract silences, crucifixes and sculpture.

Artists in the exhibition, which runs until Sunday, November 11, and is hung on the walls of the church, include photographer Lawrence Aberhart, Mary McIntyre, Joanna Paul, sculptor Terry Stringer, Lois McIvor, Claudia Pond-Eyley and John Reynolds.

Perhaps because of their catholic inclusiveness, the exhibitions have also been popular. Pollock speaks of regularly seeing 400 on opening nights, and the exhibition having been timed to coincide with the nearby sculpture and garden art exhibition at Becroft Garden.

The exhibition offers people a time of quiet contemplation within the confines of a church, a place where such ideas are most naturally addressed, she says.

"I see this exhibition as an opportunity to explore the common ground shared by the church and artists in their commitment and intention to expressing in their diverse ways, the enduring human longing to transcend the ordinary and experience the sublime."