A number of the artists taking part in the 2016 Lent Exhibition at the Vera Wade Gallery were able to be present at the Opening on Sunday, February 14, 2016.

Front Row: Marion McConaghy, Geraldine Wheeler, Krystal Lopez-Barahoma.
Back Row: Graham Moss, Susan Pietsch, Virginia Hasker, Dianne Minnaar, Bernice Ross, Cees Sliedrecht
(Absent: Lindsay Farrell, Sue Oliver, Ron Potter)

Catalogue Essay by Geraldine Wheeler

The artists, who are members of Visionaries, in this exhibition for Lent through to Easter, have taken a range of contrasting approaches to the themes and in their use of media. The events remembered in Holy Week through to Easter Day and Jesus’ resurrection appearances are the main points of reference from the biblical narrative. Some of the artists find the visual symbols associated with these central events in diverse places and others seek to express the links they find with the current world, to make comment and give meaning.

The works which most clearly make reference to the biblical narratives are Dianne Minnaar’s reproduction of the Christ Crucified station of the cross, one panel from her full series in the Samford Catholic Church; Geraldine Wheeler’s gouache stencil paintings, Agony in the Garden, completed after visiting Jerusalem and seeing the ancient, gnarled olive trees in the garden believed to have been Gethsemane, and the series based on Jesus’ resurrection appearances as told in various Gospels; and, indirectly, Virginia Hasker’s Chosen, making reference to Jesus’ choice of the donkey as the animal upon which to ride into Jerusalem. Ron Potter also reflects upon the contrast between worldly expectation about power and kingship and the way of Jesus in Follow Christ, the King, the One whose head was crowned with thorns.

Several of the artists invite us to see through a contemporary lense to express current questions or relevance. Marion McConaghy suggests a range of onlookers and their reactions to the cross, depicted in different styles, in Onlookers, and then uses a range of found materials and media to depict the crosses, the wider meaning of Jesus coming “full circle” and then his challenge to people to find his way, the door to his life.

Cees Sliedrecht’s I was a stranger and you welcomed me makes reference to ways of seeing the presence of Jesus in the world, suffering on the cross and as a refugee, as when the Holy Family fled from King Herod to Egypt, together with the challenge, with judgement, found in the parable of Matthew 25: 31-46. Here, in this painting, the Holy Family is depicted as a present day refugee family. The artist has also become poet, using the medium of words as complementary to the images.

Three of the artists see the symbols, particularly the cross, in the landscape or cityscape. Lindsay Farrell regularly observes such symbols in the cityscape of Brisbane and he shows us here the Celtic cross configuration of the Post Office Square and also his picturing of the interior of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, with its crucifix which also suggests the resurrected Christ. Graham Moss’s, Frontier Services – Lending a Hand, shows us an outback landscape suggesting the suffering of drought, the need for rain and the work of Frontier Services in the name of Christ. Susan Pietsch, with Bloom, depicts the blossoming field, the rocky path with its travellers and the presence of the cross.

The feet in Krystal Lopez-Barahona’s His Imminent Return may be read with several meanings as the feet of the crucified and risen One who promises his presence and his return. Crucifix in Red by Bernice Ross gives us very simplified forms and the symbolic colour of red for meditation. Sue Oliver offers the metaphor of the life cycle of the cicada for reflection upon death and resurrection in Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?

There is food for thought in the varied approaches taken by the artists. Some have also provided statements to outline the thinking behind the works they have made which are placed on the wall near the entry. Some make reference to biblical passages which viewers may like to read reflectively as part of their Lenten meditation and prayer. Viewers are asked to take time to look and reflect and see where they may be led in their thoughts.

Lent 2016 continues until April 8, 2016 at the Vera Wade Gallery, St. Andrew’s Church, Corner Creek and Ann Sts, entry from Ann St. Open Monday to Friday, 11-2pm.