What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; you crowned him with glory and honour. Psalm 8 v 4 and 5
In the Bible we are told that we are a little lower than the angels. The next Come to Know exhibition in our Glass Foyer starts this week on Friday and takes its title – A Little Lower - from these verses. Three artists are exhibiting this time and angels feature in all their works. Shaeron Caton Rose, who curated the exhibition, writes:
'The artist Leon Varga talks about transience and uncertainty in his piece Grey Dove, three sculptures that appear to be angels carrying backpacks. He says: "created from metal sheets of industrial waste material, Grey Dove representing the exact cumulative weight of all the individual ’s possession. They are expressing both the potential and the burgeoning weight of our existence." The pull between being grounded or even overwhelmed by everyday life and the soaring of our souls towards hope and faith perhaps.
Salutation by Shaeron Caton Rose is one of two such video works originally shown at Wallspace London in 2009. In this film, golden feathers float and are blown on the air, in the accompanying video a feather is buffeted by wind but remains stoically anchored in place. Go with the flow or fight? Fate or faith?
Shirley Hudsons’s Angel paintings, based on tombstones, remind us of our fragility and mortality but also appear strong and resilient, a testament to hope sometimes against all odds. The last few years have been a huge challenge to all of us and the year to come promises further concerns. But this may be just the right time to take that risk of finding faith in each other, in our human spirit and in the divine.'
