A familiar symbol of our life in lockdown has been reimagined to welcome back visitors into Winchester Cathedral.
The colourful installation by Revd Gill Sakakini, Held in a Burst of Colour went on display in the nave of Winchester Cathedral in time for its re-opening to visitors this weekend.
Revd Gill Sakakini, the Cathedral’s artist priest, said:
“It seemed fitting to mark the return to public worship after lockdown in a significant visual way, and to draw our gaze to a hopeful future, through the image of the rainbow which has been so familiar and sustaining during the past months.”
The 150 metres of muslin fabric were each dyed especially for the project, and create a reverse arc with the fabrics flowing out from a central point in the cathedral nave.
Revd Gill said:
“We planned for everything to be attached before raising and had calculated the angle of the curves, but only during the hoisting was it really possible to see the overall aesthetic effect and I was relieved and excited to see it come together.
“And it was made especially poignant as this moment coincided with Cathedral prayers being read, and those of us on the ground were held in a communal stillness and a sense of awe,” she added.
The Very Revd Catherine Ogle, Dean of Winchester said “It’s exciting to see a gifted artist responding to our contemporary world in the context of the magnificent space of the cathedral. This gentle and joyful installation lifts the spirits.”
The installation can be seen at Winchester Cathedral throughout the summer.
More about how our cathedrals are re-opening here.
