Past exhibitions

10 March – 3 April 2010

Envisage: a sculptural journey

Richard Gilbert

Envisage, the exhibition of fourteen huge and impressive heads by Richard Gilbert, referred to the traditional ‘stations of the cross’. But it was no conventional piece of religious iconography. Each of the sometimes fearsome, heads has been deliberately made using different materials, individually expressing ideas, moods and resonances. Consequently – depending on one's perspective – they act as a challenging sculptural journey or as the basis for pilgrimage, offering an opportunity for meditation in the run-up to Easter. Whichever way the work was approached, this collection of heads was a tour de force.



The history of the ‘Stations’ is rooted in the medieval period, when the dream of every Christian was to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. There they could walk the via dolorosa (the way of sorrows) or the via cruces (the way of the cross), stopping along the route to think about Jesus’ last journey. But for those who could never make such a hazardous journey, there was an alternative. All over Europe special shrines offered the would-be pilgrim a way of going on pilgrimage at home. The traditional 14 stopping places became the ‘Stations of the Cross’. They showed scenes from the way of the cross, designed for meditation, insight and inspiration. This form still inspires and challenges artists today.

The seed for this project was sown in Easter 1998, when Richard Gilbert visited Antigua in the Guatemalan Highlands of Central America to witness the famous Easter processions. Semana Santa (Holy Week) pageants started taking place not long after the Spanish conquest, and continued up until an earthquake in 1773 left the elegant colonial town in ruins. The saints’ statues were taken from the churches and hidden. Over the years, a tradition of secret worship by local religious brotherhoods or cofradias grew up, focused on the statues. These lay brotherhoods were banned up until the 20th century, when the custom of displaying the statues during Holy Week was revived.

Gilbert chose to interpret his subject as a series of heads, in reference to aspects of the traditional Stations of the Cross. The tools of the crucifixion – nails, ropes, wood, iron, and the vinegar that rusts the iron – are all present in the heads, or have been used in their creation. Rather than looking for images of the passion, the viewer is invited to ‘feel’ the work – as one might ‘feel’ a piece of music.