'Praise Be’ is an installation of wire mesh hands that depicts the church family at St John’s Hartford as a body of believers in a collective act of praise.
Members of our church family were invited to be involved and a template was taken of each person’s individual hand. Subsequently, over 200 hands were modelled in total.
Over 200 hands were modelled in total. Anonymity was key in making the work as while we acknowledge that God knows each of us intimately, the truth is we are all equal in His sight - He loves us all the same, we are His children.
To depict key concepts a wire mesh that is strong, but looks delicate and fragile, was used. The concept is threefold: firstly, a nod to fragility. The fragility of life and how this can change in the blink of an eye. At the same time the wire represents great strength, a strength that can be found in having a faith in Jesus. And finally, the piece depicts a conceptual reference to fellowship, collective praise and belonging.
The use of the skylight in the installation is considered a symbolic porthole to God, heaven, and eternity, and this is where our Praise is directed. This skylight links the new installation to the exhibition paintings “Light of the World” (displayed on the stairwell), further consolidating that Jesus is the light to the world.
While acknowledging the supremacy of the biblical word of God, the visual arts, by fixing our sight on concrete objects, invite us to look at the world afresh, to see it as it is, or perhaps as it might, or will be.
The wire mesh installation, exhibition paintings and 10ft wooden cross outside the Church Centre are not simply things to decorate our space, although naturally we hope they do, they are there for our parishioners and non-parishioners alike – for everyone to contemplate, through the medium of art, the glory of God.
Art at St John’s is here as a tool to help us see the gospel afresh, to remind, challenge, inspire or encourages us to see the world, for example, not as opaque to God's presence but charged with it. My Prayer is that these artworks will facilitate this for all who spend time with them.
