God of all people: Challenging Perceptions

Global Images of Christ: Challenging Perceptions has opened at Chester Cathedral.

Global Images of Christ: Challenging Perceptions at Chester Cathedral, Saturday 25th September

“It is our hope that the Global Images of Christ exhibition will not only be an opportunity for us to listen, learn and be transformed, but bring all God’s people to an understanding that the God we worship is neither black nor white but a God of all people.”

The Revd Canon Lameck Mutete, Chair of the Diocese of Chester Race and Ethnicity Forum

The exhibition is made up of over 50 paintings, African and Chinese sculptures, and orthodox icons and includes contributions from artists such as Mark Cazalet, Peter Eugene Ball, and Lorna May Wadsworth.

The art works have been collected from churches across the UK by Chester Cathedral’s Canon Precentor, Jeremy Dussek and curated by the Art and Design Department of the University of Chester.

The central piece in the exhibition is Lorna May Wadsworth’s depiction of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus shared with his apostles in Jerusalem before his crucifixion. Wadsworth portrays Jesus as a black man and worked with Jamaican-born fashion model, Tafari Hinds who modelled for the representation. Her composition is based on the late 15th-century mural painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci and is on loan from a church in Gloucestershire.

Also on display is Meg Roe’s reimagining of Audrey Rublev’s Trinity icon which belongs to Southwark Cathedral. In it she has used the Russian artist’s famous composition to demonstrate community solidarity and sensitivity for all those displaced and maltreated.

The exhibition is a collaborative venture by Chester Cathedral, the University of Chester and the Diocese of Chester and represents a desire by all to promote equality and diversity in a community partnership.

The Revd Canon Lameck Mutete, Chair of the diocesan Race and Ethnicity Forum says:

“It is our hope that the Global Images of Christ exhibition will not only be an opportunity for us to listen, learn and be transformed, but bring all God’s people to an understanding that the God we worship is neither black nor white but a God of all people.”

The Dean of Chester, the Very Revd Dr Tim Stratford says:

“We are very familiar with pictures of Jesus Christ cast in our western European image.  This exhibition helps us see him through the eyes of other cultures enlarging our understanding of God.

A print of Lorna May Wadsworth’s A Last Supper was placed at the Altar of the Persecuted in the North Transept of St Albans Cathedral in July last year to challenge perceptions and spark conversation.

Global Images of Christ: Challenging Perceptions opens this Saturday in Chester Cathedral. It is open Monday – Saturday 10am – 6pm, Sunday 12 Noon – 5pm from Saturday 25 September to Saturday 30 October.

Entry is free and donations are welcome.