A dramatic
new mosaic representing Christ the Pantocrator has recently been
installed over the West Door of the church of Saint Augustine in
Barkingside, Essex. It is the culmination of a process started about
eighteen months ago when the priest, Father Paul Bruxby, and his
parishioners, decided that the blank lunette panel on the front
of their impressive but austere church should be enlivened with
a mosaic.
They
approached Mosaic Workshop, who were then working on the new mosaics
in Westminster Cathedral, and put forward their initial ideas. Tessa
Hunkin leapt at the opportunity of creating a design for such a
traditional and conspicuous location. Father Paul had lived and
studied in Rome for some years and was inspired by the mosaics of
the early Christian and Medieval period that he had seen in Italy.
Coincidently Tessa was studying for a Masters degree in Medieval
Studies and so the design interests of the client and artist were
a perfect match. Father Paul felt that the image of Christ the Pantocrator,
or ruler of all, would be appropriate in this location because of
its traditional use as the focus of the great Byzantine mosaic cycles,
most often found in the centre of a domed cupola, as at Daphni in
Greece and La Martorana in Palermo, or the Eastern Apse, as in Monreale
and Cefalu. They studied several of these examples and eventually
settled on the image from the ceiling of the Baptistery in Florence
as the prime source of inspiration. A reproduction of this mosaic
had been hanging in the confessional of the church for many years
and so had a particular resonance for the Parish.
This was, however, only the start of the design process, as the
intention was not to make an exact copy but to create an entirely
original work that was inspired and informed by the Florentine mosaic
and the whole tradition of Byzantine Pantocrator imagery. After
one or two attempts Tessa created the strong and simple design of
the half figure of Christ holding the book in one hand and with
the other making the sign that can be interpreted both as that of
blessing and of teaching. The rich colours of the robes were inspired
by the original mosaic in Florence and the gold background, essential
to all Byzantine mosaic, represents the spiritual importance of
light.
The mosaic was then made in Mosaic Workshop’s studio in North
London using the indirect method. Reversing an image such as this
one can cause difficulties, and the slight asymmetry of the face
had to be constantly checked using a mirror and the almost magical
abilities of a digital camera to reverse the image back again. The
other difficulty in this method of working was the gold background
which, of course appears a gorgeous, but jarring, dark green on
the reverse face. This was extremely visually confusing during the
process of production but Father Paul and some interested parishioners
came to view the piece in the Workshop when the figure was still
surrounded by plain brown paper. This allowed them to see the face
and hands without too much distraction, and fortunately they were
pleased with the effect that had been achieved.
By the time the work had been completed in the Workshop winter was
drawing in and there were concerns that the days were too short
and the temperature too cold to fix the mosaic. It was finally installed
on Maundy Thursday, just in time for Easter, and it was given an
official blessing by the Papal Nuncio at a special Mass on Sunday
June 10th. The Nuncio is the Pope’s ambassador to England
and it was a great honour for the parish to have such a distinguished
guest. The mosaic looks as if it has always been there, and everyone
seems to like, including passers by and the Hindus who use the Car
Park as an impromtu temple.
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