In pictures: Sculptures that ‘capture human form with compassion’ on show at Ely Cathedral
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?, a new exhibition by British artist and sculptor Sean Henry, is on display now at Ely Cathedral.
Curated by visual arts adviser Jacquiline Creswell, the exhibition “prompts reflection on the extent to which individuals may support each other and can be interpreted as an inquiry into one’s moral responsibility toward others”.
Sean Henry has sculpted a number of hand-painted terracotta and bronze figures, which are populating the vacant plinths, tombs and niches situated throughout the cathedral.
His life-like figures are of varying size from 38cm up to 3m in height. They capture the human form with compassion, their creator says, “depicting the emotions, struggles and joys that define us as human”.
The Very Rev Mark Bonney, Dean of Ely, said: “These figures invite us to create our own narratives around what they are perhaps thinking or doing, they invite us think about ‘holiness’ and who are the people we put in the niches or on pedestals.
“The title of the exhibition ‘Am I My Brother’s Keeper?’ reflects on the fact that these sculptures are not of specific people but can be anyone or everyone, and thus we are all interconnected by our common humanity and that places responsibilities on us all one to another.”
Sean added: “There are 28 scupltures in the exhibition – there are four outside the cathedral and 24 inside the cathedral, and they were made over a 25-year period.
“So the earliest piece in the show is from 1999, and the latest one is something I just finished a week ago.
“And they’re my selection, so it’s not a commercial show in any way. It was really an invitation from the dean, Mark Bonney, to collaborate with them, and with the curator Jacquiline Creswell, to put on a show at Ely Cathedral.
“I’ve borrowed one or two pieces back from people and then the rest of the scupltures are pieces that I own and have lent to this four-month period.
“But I have to say, it feels a great privilege to be allowed to do it, and I feel very grateful to the dean for instigating it.”
Sean’s work has been exhibited worldwide including Europe, Australasia and the US. Many of his sculptures have been installed in a number of locations across the globe, from the Arctic Circle in Norway to the South Island of New Zealand.
Since 2015, his sculpture of Sir Tim Berners-Lee, founder of the World Wide Web, has been part of the permanent collection in the National Portrait Gallery.
Am I My Brother’s Keeper? runs until 1 September and is included in the cathedral admission ticket.
The exhibition will be formally opened by culture secretary and South East Cambridgeshire MP Lucy Frazer later this month.
Visit elycathedral.org for more details.