Clothed in Love

The Side Chapel is a sacred space. I am usually drawn to the bare wall behind the altar. It’s seeming emptiness is an invitation to reflect on the deep mystery of God and my relationship with my God. At various times during the year, like now, this space is occupied by a new work of art.

I am a Welcomer and art in the side chapel shares some of the important elements of what it is to be a Welcomer. Some visitors come into the church to pray or just to be quiet. Others come into admire this holy place, and as a Welcomer you gently encourage an engagement with the place; drawing their attention to the church’s important features and its outreach work. I think the challenge for Welcomers is to help the visitor to see or discover something they didn’t expect or know about, so they go away in some way feeling more connected or energised by the experience. Art in the side chapel can be a similar experience. Art is a visual language that has the ability to aid our contemplation. The altar with the plain wall behind is a familiar space. We come into the Side Chapel to pray and a work of art can become part of our prayer. Something new occupying the space can change how we respond in the space and precipitate new feelings. If we sit with the ‘art visitor’ it has the potential to deepen our connection with our spiritual being and to engage with something new and different within us, and maybe broaden our understanding of our faith and what it means to be human.

Joke Amusan’s beautiful art installation for Lent is such an invitation. At first glance the coarse hessian fabric with its frayed edges and the rough poles, which look like found objects and which contrast sharply with the ornate carvings in the main body of the church, seems out of place in this fabulous listed Wren church. But this art work is not out of place, far from it. There is much to meditate on and bring us closer to God. The lettering in bright red perhaps reminding us of Christ’s blood spilt for us, or red is also the traditional colour of love?

Lara Amusan (@larasphotos1)

The words incorporated into the banner clothing the wall are powerful – “ABOVE ALL, CLOTHE YOURSELVES WITH LOVE WHICH BINDS US TOGETHER” – reminding us of God’s unequivocal love. Then there is a gap and the words “IN HARMONY” which speaks to me of a desire or a hope that love will bind us together.

The altar cloth below goes further “STAND FIRM, LET NOTHING MOVE YOU”. This is challenging. The artist recognises the challenge. Below these words mountains are stitched into the altar cloth, suggesting that standing firm and clothing ourselves with love for all is a steep spiritual mountain to climb.

The cloth spills over the altar onto the floor of the side chapel with stitched pieces of traditional cloth representing Joke’s heritage but also the way in which love cannot be confined.

I love it when visitors return to St James Piccadilly and say they try to come every time they visit London. Something must have stayed with them that brought them back. So too with the art. For me often after I have walked away from a work of art it continues to work on me, as this piece has done.

With the deep pain of the Middle East war, where love seems to have no place, this art work is particularly poignant as we pray for all affected by this bloody conflict, where love seems absent.

During Lent Joke’s work encourages us to ponder on the mystery of God’s love. Lent is a time of penance and reflection as we journey towards the Cross. This is a deeply Lenten work. The rough cloth clothing the altar of love is reminiscent of the sack cloth covering the bodies of penitent pilgrims. The branches at the top holding up the banner evoke the branches of the Cross holding up the bleeding body of Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for Love and for Us.

I have described how this work speaks to me. I would like to encourage everyone who visits St James to visit the Side Chapel and to sit with this work and see how it speaks to each one of you, and then to come back and look again.