Chichester Cathedral Field of Blooms

Chichester Cathedral has launched their Advent programme in a blaze of colour with the interactive art installation, Field of Blooms offering hope and joy for the season.

Field of Blooms – Chichester Cathedral

This immersive artwork by British visual artist Bruce Munroe sees one thousand stems of colour-changing light bloom in “paradise” – the 600-year-old reflective green space in the cloisters at Chichester Cathedral.

The artist was inspired by his visit to Uluru in Australia and the concept of a seed in a desert waiting for darkness to fall to bloom.

The Dean of Chichester, the Very Reverend Stephen Waine, said:

“We are grateful to Bruce Munro, his Studio and Curator Jacquiline Creswell for working with us to bring this immersive artwork to Chichester. We hope that our community and beyond find joy in discovering the light in the darkness, and joining us to mark this joyous time of year, following such a challenging time for us all.”

Jacquiline Creswell, Curator, said:

“Bruce is creating a spectacular, uplifting immersive experience, combining colour and light with music. This installation is imbued with beauty and wonder and in the context of Chichester Cathedral’s Paradise – it is a symbol of renewal and energy.”

The artwork forms part of Chichester Cathedral’s celebrations for Advent and Christmas, under the banner of ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’ (John 1.5).

The period will see the return of The Chichester Nativity, the art installation that celebrates the local heroes of the COVID-19 in the style of a renaissance tableau,  first shown in the cathedral last year.

The Chichester Nativity features real people drawn from local organisations, charities and medical services across East and West Sussex, with angels acting as guardians of health and wellbeing; shepherds as providers of food and resources; the Magi as people who have learned from experience and are now leaders of their community.

Each participant was photographed individually and the artwork then printed onto sheer voile banners and hung above the Cathedral’s historic Arundel Screen, leading into the Nave and Baptistry.

Photo Credit: Ash Mills

Find out further information on the Cathedral’s Advent programme website: chichestercathedral.org.uk

Photo Credit: Bors Photography (Field of Blooms).