Crosses to bear
New Zealand Listener|March 30 - April 5, 2024
An early commission by one of the country's most highly regarded artists lies hidden in obscurity amid a row over traditional and modern art in a religious context.
SALLY BLUNDELL
Crosses to bear

They glow with a spare luminosity. Simple, black-edged figures leaning into each other in sorrow and compassion; saturated colours interjected by the unforgiving lines of a cross, the shocking silence of white space.

"When you remove the blinds, brilliant colours rush into the consecrated space," wrote poet Bernadette Hall on first seeing the Stations of the Cross painted by artist, poet, experimental film-maker and photographer Joanna Margaret Paul on the white plaster walls of St Mary, Star of the Sea in Dunedin's Port Chalmers in 1971. "It fills with light. Your heart lifts. You are connected to the hills, the harbour, the very human story of suffering and sacrifice."

But viewing this very human story is not easy. Visiting the small, light-filled church perched above the glittering waters of Port Chalmers, it is impossible to miss the town's maritime history. There's a weathered ship's wheel, a ship's bell, a porthole covering the baptismal font, a retired anchor supporting the lectern. But for most of the year, even at this time of year, Paul's Stations of the Cross lie hidden by Hall's "blinds" - a series of Renaissance reproductions rescued, according to the many conflicting stories milling around these works, from beneath the church or from a retired church north of Dunedin.

As Hall says, "It's a long and convoluted story. Much papal silentio surrounds it."

Joanna Margaret Paul, the subject of the major touring retrospective Imagined in the Context of a Room developed by Dunedin Public Art Gallery and Sarjeant Gallery Te Whare o Rehua Whanganui, grew up in Hamilton, the eldest of four daughters of well-known artistic and literary parents Janet and Blackwood Paul.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 30 - April 5, 2024-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 30 - April 5, 2024-Ausgabe von New Zealand Listener.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

WEITERE ARTIKEL AUS NEW ZEALAND LISTENERAlle anzeigen
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 Minuten  |
September 9, 2024