Stewards of the Earth 5 September to 6 December 2013 at Sarum College

Ground Floor

Entrance

Dining Room

Bookshop

Cavell Room

Stairs to first floor

Lift to first floor

Common Room

Hamilton Room

Burnet Room

Chapel

Stairs to ground floor

Lift to ground floor

First Floor

Stewards of the Earth

Stewards of the Earth is the final exhibition of four at Sarum College which deliberately set out to get artists to respond to a Biblical brief. This, as far as I know, was unique. The exhibitions – The Word in 2011, The Art of Healing in 2012 ,Through a Glass Darkly in 2012, and now Stewards of the Earth — focused on different aspects of Christian thinking about God and how we perceive and conceive of him. Our artists were as diverse as their work, some Christian, some not, some still seeking a spiritual path. In this exhibition we asked the artists to consider a Christian response to the despoliation of the planet we call home in terms of the Old Testament injunction to Adam, in the Creation story in Genesis, to care for the Garden of Eden. Not only was Adam to care for this new creation, but he was also given the job of naming the animals, underlining metaphorically humankind’s close relationship with the created order as well as their duty to look after it. We are all familiar with the effects of climate change, overpopulation, deforestation, poor environmental control over industrial processes, and so forth. We all know that if we do not tackle these important issues we are in real trouble. What we hope to do in this exhibition is to help us to look some of these problems in the eye and ponder an active response. It also reflects the beauty and glory of the created universe, reminding us what we stand to lose if we continue to live as if the world had infinite resources and space. We hope very much you will enjoy what you see. Maggie Guillebaud

Sheona Beaumont Sheona is a visual artist and writer based in the South West of the UK. Her work and research explore the ways in which photography imparts or contains spiritual meaning. She exhibits regularly, producing solo exhibitions every other year, and is currently writing about biblical themes in contemporary photography for her PhD at the University of Gloucestershire (with the Bible Society).

www.shospace.co.uk

This series, 6 Days of Uncreation, explores the instability of the world’s beautifully colourful and diverse habitats. Each image is a digital composite, incorporating both aerial and traditional landscape photographs, challenging our position in/over the environment. They invite both a large-scale celebration of the brilliance of the world around us, and a closer-to-home intention to re-enchant our looking and our living, inspired by the opening chapters of the book of Genesis.

1 BLACK PLANET £300

2 GREEN PLANET £300

3 RED PLANET £300

4 YELLOW PLANET £300

5 BLUE PLANET £300

6 WHITE PLANET £300

All pieces are photographic prints bonded

between acrylic panels. Each is part of a limited edition of 100. 400mm x 400mm x 10mm. Other sizes and media available on request.

Ben Crawshaw Ben is a painter who lives in the Lake District, England. He attended University College for the Creative Arts, Maidstone, Kent , and The Glasgow School of Art, completing his training in 2010. He took part in exchange programmes at The Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, United States and The Universität der Kunst, Berlin, Germany. As an artist he identifies with the settings of Cumbria, the city of Glasgow, Scotland and Brittany in France.

www.bencrawshaw.co.uk

7 GLEEMAN £1200

Oil on canvas. 1400mm x 1700mm. During the Middle Ages, religious clerics frowned upon a type of performer who juggled; known as ‘gleemen’. He was accused of ‘base morals’, or practicing witchcraft. Our attempts to juggle the earth’s resources can have unforeseen consequences.

8 AMOR FATI £1200

Oil on canvas. 1900mm x 1200mm. This is Latin for ‘love of fate’. The phrase reflects an attitude of seeing all events that happen in life, including suffering and loss, as good.

9 RIME £1000

Oil on canvas. 570mm x 580mm. ‘Rime’ refers to a thin coating of ice such that is found on trees in winter and is an alternative spelling of ‘rhyme’.

10 HOCHSPANNUNG £1200

Oil on canvas. 1500mm x 1200mm. The German word ‘spannung’ can mean ‘tension’ or ‘stress’. ‘hochspannung’ translates as ‘high-tension’ or ‘high-voltage’.

Benita Kevill Davies Benita was born in Dorset and educated at Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design. Apart from a few years exile in the Cotswolds she has lived in Dorset all her life. Over the years she has participated in group exhibitions such as the Royal Academy Summer show and the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition. Her work is to be found in public and private collections including the Arts Council Collection and the Contemporary Arts Society collection.

11 BARROW £500

Oil on canvas. 250mm x 235mm. The ancient barrows of the bronze age are surprisingly resilient in the modern landscape. Their builders expressed in them a profound sense of connection with their surroundings, their smooth roundnesses encapsulating the forms of the downland on which they stand.

12 GENESIS 1 £350

Oil on canvas. 190mm x 250mm.

13 GENESIS 2 £180

Oil on canvas. 140mm x 310mm.

14 GENESIS 3 £180

Oil on canvas. 140mm x 310mm. Recently I have started to do some paintings about the struggle of our imaginations to stretch and grasp the things we now know about creation. I enjoy reading Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything and other such books, and I've made some imaginary paintings about the earth when it was "without form" and probably filled with an algae soup. Life was just stirring.

15 "AND THE TREES OF THE FIELD SHALL £500

KNOW THAT I THE LORD...."

EZEKIEL 17.24 1ST STUDY

Oil on canvas. 480mm x 570mm.

16 "AND THE TREES OF THE FIELD SHALL £500

KNOW THAT I THE LORD...."

EZEKIEL 17.24 2ND STUDY

Oil on canvas. 380mm x 390mm. I have chosen a scripture here for the title of these tree paintings which links our respect for nature with our need for God's justice. In all my landscapes I strive for some eternal and joyous qualities through design.

Carbon Sink by Chris Drury

Chris Drury Chris has been described as a land artist but he himself says that he seeks to make connections between nature and culture, inner and outer, microcosm and macrocosm. To this end he collaborates with scientists and technicians from a broad spectrum of disciplines and technology and uses whatever visual means and materials that best suit the situation.

www.chrisdrury.co.uk

17 CARBON SINK £4000

Inkjet print. Edition of 4. 760mm x 500mm A work made for The University of Wyoming in 2011, constructed from beetle-killed pine logs and coal. The work drew attention to the production of coal in the state, which when shipped and burnt elsewhere, contributes to warming winters which no longer kill off the pine beetle and as result the forests in the Rockies are dying. The state is rich in coal and oil and the University of Wyoming is entirely funded by taxes from the energy companies. The work caused huge controversy worldwide when legislators threatened to withdraw funding from the university because of its commissioning policies.

18 TWENTY FOUR HOUR ICEBERG £9000

Twenty minute looped video. Edition of 6. The first thing I did when I arrived at the British Antarctic Survey base at Rothera was to film a mountain and an iceberg for three minutes every hour for 24 hours on the Summer Solstice. This video is the result. The berg moved about three miles in that time.

www.laurencerushbyart.co.uk

Laurence Dubé-Rushby Laurence graduated in Fashion Design in 1993 and in Fine Art in 1995 at Université des Arts Plastiques de Rennes. She has exhibited in shared exhibitions such as La Galleria, Pall Mall, London, and has undertaken commissions for the Salisbury International Arts Festival and Winchester University, among others. She is resident artist at the River Bourne Community Farm, developing projects with the community and researching on art, the environment and social changes.

19 A THOUSAND SHEEP, 2013

£150 framed, £90 unframed Photographic print of installation, limited

edition print on fine art paper, 1/100. 400mm x 300mm (560mm x 460mm framed). A Thousand Sheep is a photograph of Laurence’s large installation (7mx4m) made of 1000 bundles of sheep fleece dyed red with madder plant (used for the original army red coats). The work was made over three years, working with raw materials and involving an army of local volunteers. The installation explores the narratives of local landscape shaped by two basic needs, food and safety, farming and the military. The use of lambs’ wool grown on the land and madder red symbolises the sacrifice of lives, whether human or wildlife, which is inherent to the defence of physical, moral, religious and social boundaries across the world.

20 TRACE: HOME

£350 framed, £250 unframed 500mm x 700mm framed.

21 TRACE: INSIDE ME

£350 framed, £250 unframed 500mm x 700mm framed.

22 TRACE: A BLINK

£350 framed, £250 unframed 500mm x 700mm framed.

23 TRACE: LOST AND FOUND

£450 framed, £350 unframed 600mm x 800mm framed. All are digital photographs and drawings,

limited edition prints on fine art paper, 1/10. Trace is a series of images from 2010 to 2013. In the context of our western society, human beings have removed themselves from the idea of “the wild” to cultivate and shape the land to their needs. During meditative walks and runs in the woods, Laurence connects with the depth of the wilderness; following her instinct, she loses herself and finds her way like an animal. Her life and nature intertwine as she becomes aware of the marks her passage leaves behind. Nature responds to her thoughts as a spiritual bound is created. Trace invites individual’s consciousness to awaken and harmonise with nature, in the hope to mend a broken link.

Photograph of Laurence Dubé-Rushby’s 1000 Sheep installation.

Robyn Golden-Hann Robyn trained as a traditional stonemason and carver. She now specialises in the design and hand-carving of inscriptions and low relief stonework, mostly to commission for bespoke memorials. Recognising and acknowledging our humanity and mortality are the driving passions behind the work she creates.

www.bespoke-memorials.co.uk

24 ROBYN’S ROBIN (ALL THINGS BRIGHT NFS

AND BEAUTIFUL)

Italian slate. 300mm x 300mm x 25mm We may find the grandeur and majesty of God’s creation writ large in the small, unassuming and humble. This relief carving is a celebration of the common flora & fauna, the creepy-crawlies and the weeds. “It is all that is made”.

25 EARTH’S CRAMMED WITH HEAVEN £900

Green Cumbrian slate. 430mm x 230mm x 20mm This quote from Elizabeth Barret Browning’s poem came as something of a gift to me from a client. Ours is a world packed full of wonder, if only we take the care to see it as God does.

Sophie Hacker Sophie graduated as a painter from the Slade School of Fine Art. She later retrained as a sculptor and continues her studio work in a wide range of materials including stained glass. Current projects include church re-ordering and designs for altars, frontals and furniture. She teaches Fine Art to MA level, lectures regularly and runs creative workshops for a wide variety of groups. She is Arts Consultant to Winchester Cathedral and is a trustee of Art and Christian Enquiry (ACE).

www.sophiehacker.com

26 UNTITLED POA

Cedar of Lebanon, pigment and ground gold/silver/copper, lead. 1150mm x 700mm

This cross is made from cedar of Lebanon taken from the tree that fell in Salisbury Cathedral Close about a decade ago. Its shape has arisen from its life as a ‘chuck’ – a support used on the Cathedral stonemasons’ cutting wheel. All the gouges and incisions were made as a result of preliminary shaping of Chilmark and Chicksgrove stone used on the Cathedral. The pigments and metallics are used to draw out its beauty and complexity. It speaks of suffering and of redemption.

Tim Harrisson Tim has works on long-term and permanent loan throughout England, including A Pattern Of Life, Third Court, Christ’s College, Cambridge; and, Wake and Within the Edge, The New Art Centre, Roche Court, Salisbury. Two works, Bearing, 2006 and Root, 2006, have recently been installed for one year in the close and in the interior of Ely Cathedral.

www.timharrisson.com

27 THE RECUMBENT STONES I £12000

Carved Monk’s Park Bath Stone

28 THE RECUMBENT STONES II £12000

Carved Westwood Ground Bath Stone The Recumbent Stones I and II are two open-ended horizontal carvings. They seek to draw attention to the lie of the land and are directly inspired by the open and closed forms of the South Wiltshire chalk downland. They are carved in two types of Bath Stone. Its natural softness and warm colour are sympathetic to the gentle structures and rhythms of the downs. It is comparatively easy to work allowing for a direct physical carving where improvisation and a flexibility boarding on the elastic are possible.

Tracey Sheppard Tracey has been a freelance designer and glass engraver for 30 years. She is a Fellow of the Guild of Glass Engravers and a Brother of the Art Workers Guild. Her work may be found in a number of churches and public buildings as well as in many private collections. She works on a wide ranging scale, from small and intimate vessels to expansive architectural projects.

www.traceysheppard.co.uk

29 IN WHOSE HAND £3200

Sandblast and drill engraved. Lead crystal platter. 480mm diameter

This piece was inspired by words from Job 12:10. “In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind” (King James Bible). This ancient statement of belief might also now be seen as a question, given the perilous state of the environment today. The silhouette of a hand in the middle of the platter transforms into a dandelion clock. The seeds are dispersing making the structure of the clock even more fragile. The idea of time running out is implicit in the imagery. Or, is the hand cradling creation and keeping it safe?

In Whose Hand by Tracey Sheppard. Photograph by Joe Low

George Smith George was a gardener, photographer and plants man, the perfect combination in a wonderful young man. We have established a charity, Focus in on Life, in George’s memory which encourages and supports young people in horticulture and conservation. As George’s parents we are very proud to exhibit this work on behalf of a wonderful son we miss greatly.

www.focusinonlife.org.uk

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1: 1-3 From the chaos at the beginning of time life has evolved in infinite colours, shapes and sizes, some lasting for many hundreds of years and some for just a few minutes. All life exists in an unimaginably complex and delicate state of interdependence, which is both self-effacing and life-affirming. “God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning

30 ORDER OUT OF CHAOS £250

31 THE ABSENCE OF DARKNESS £250

32 THE COLOUR OF LIGHT £250

All are photographs printed on Giclee paper. 640mm x 870mm

Roger Stephens Roger is a trained Stonemason and worked at Salisbury Cathedral for nine years. He now works from his studio on the Clarendon Estate. He has been commissioned by private collectors and public institutions and is represented in London by Cadogan Contemporary. The majority of his work springs from a deep love and study of nature and how the environment impacts upon it, whether it be flora, fauna or humanity.

www.rs-sculpture.net

33 WHALE’S EYE, £1400

FOR THOSE IN PERIL IN THE SEA

Polyphant on glass. 440mm x 260mm x 270mm This sculpture is a memorial to the whales that have been killed for commercial profit. This still continues today, in spite of the campaign started in 1975 by Greenpeace, and indeed many countries, to have this slaughter banned. Whales offer no threat to man, and with their size and grace represent all the animals in our oceans that are under threat by industrial and commercial exploitation.

Whale’s Eye by Roger Stephens

Lectures

STEWARDS OF CREATION? HUMANS AND THE DEMANDS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT Thursday 10 October, 7pm

Speaker: Hadrian Cook is an environmental scientist interested in the history of development of landscape. He has taught in a number of universities, works as an environmental consultant and locally for the Harnham Water Meadows Trust.

LED BY THE LAND Wednesday 23 October, 7pm

Speaker: Kim Wilkie is one of the UK's finest landscape architects. Current projects include a ten-acre redevelopment on the site of Chelsea Barracks in London, a scheme to re-use a redundant power station on the south coast, and several estates in England and Scotland. His book Led by the Land (2012) won the Garden Media Guild Inspirational Book of the Year award.

NIBLETT MEMORIAL LECTURE - SEX AND THE PLANET: A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON POPULATION AND SUSTAINABILITY Saturday 2 November, 5pm

Speaker: John Guillebaud is emeritus professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health, University College London. He writes on environmental sustainability, population and contraception.

All lectures are free, advance booking required. Telephone 01722 424800 or email info@sarum.ac.uk

Supper may be available on 10 October and 23 October at 6pm, priced at £10. Supper is also available for the Niblett Memorial Lecture priced at £15. Contact us for details.

The Stewards of the Earth exhibition is open daily until Friday 6 December 2013, from 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 2pm on Sundays. If you would like to enquire about making a purchase, please speak to the receptionist at Sarum College. Some of the items in the exhibition are not for sale and are labelled NFS. The price for Sophie Hacker’s piece Untitled is available upon request.

Cover image is an adaptation of Sheona Beaumont’s Green Planet, Black Planet, Blue Planet and Yellow Planet