Today’s the day: Southwark Cathedral unveils its major art installation, Please Believe These Days Will Pass, by artist Mark Titchner – first seen in the early days of lockdown on posters and billboards across our cities.
Please Believe These Days Will Pass opens at Southwark Cathedral.
The work was due to open in Lent as Southwark Cathedral’s annual art installation – now in its tenth year, this much anticipated event aims to spark new conversations, attract new visitors to the cathedral and bring contemporary art to those who may not have access to it.
The Dean of Southwark, the Very Revd Andrew Nunn, said:
“As we move as a nation through the various stages of the roadmap leading to the complete relaxation of the Coronavirus restrictions, it is easy to believe that it is all behind us.
‘But the world is still in the grip of a pandemic. Mark Titchner’s monumental installation in Southwark Cathedral will be a stark reminder that we need to look beyond these islands to a world still suffering.
“But it is also a message of hope, because the truth is ‘these days will pass’ and we must hold on to that belief, that hope.”
Mark’s Please Believe artwork appeared on posters and billboards across the country during the early stages of Lockdown and was widely shared on social media.
He said:
“I had no idea then how this artwork would connect itself to the terrible days that followed and how far it would ultimately travel. Something about that message seemed to connect with the need for hope that was so felt so keenly by us all.
Mark said that his artwork imposed its message on the Gothic architecture of the building and placed it within the context of faith and contemplation.
“I am excited and grateful for the opportunity to present a new large-scale version of this work to a new audience within the resonant, historical setting of Southwark Cathedral,” he added.
Opening times are 8am – 6pm daily.
For more information click here.
Photo: Ben Stevens
