Why do I do what I do? –(scripture/sculpture/scalpel)

I blame my whole stations of the cross fetish on a 40 x 40 cm piece of lawn grass. it was a city side Baptist stations of the cross exhibition on mt eden road. It was station 2. A piece by artist Belinda Bradley. The image stays with me now. I can just about smell it. However, I have no idea what station 1 was. I have no idea, I cannot remember what stations 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 was…

station 2: jesus praying in the garden. Christ in a pivotal moment of deep anguish, surrendered his will, his life, his obedience to the father…. A powerful dramatic incredible text. but this station:

Was simply 40 x 40 a piece of lawn grass, green alive grass, with dirt, with a wine glass sitting top left hand corner.

I was moved.

What was so gripping to me was this lawn was nz lawn. This was lawn of cricket and bbqs… this was backyard lawn, this was the lawn of my youth. This was lawn of 1000 soccer balls and slide tackles with my brothers. This was lawn of clover and bee stings This was nz turf… this was a piece of the nz quarter acre. and when I spent time just looking at the grass, meditating with the scripture, I thought the mormons got it definetly wrong, Christ never went to America to hang out with the red Indians – he was actually praying in Nz on Nz grass! The sense of Christ present in my context, in my hood, on my turf, my sense of eyes opening was as immediate as the eyes of Paul’s eyes closing maybe on the dusty road to Damascus.

So all through a bit of grass lawn, suddenly significantly, the story of easter connected for me, Christ was obedient to death for me a NZ -er, –

I continued the Cityside tradition of stations in Hamilton because I had both a conviction and a hunch.

My conviction was born out of my personal experience. I found the Easter story framed in my cultural context gripping, real. It was aesthetically pleasing, stimulating. I had a conviction that artists worshiping Christ, illuminating Christ through visual images, images and installations formed through a kiwi worldview, is a very significant experience for both viewer and creator.

I also had a hunch that Stations of the Cross could be missional. And I needed a good hunch because my multi media presentations, my coffee bars, my door knocking, my Christian t-shirt, my altar calls and tract giving pursuits were less than pretty. Little return. Not good. Slim evangelical pickings.

It could be missional, even though still largely an attractional project, because art still has currency in the market place. Good Art does not dictate to the viewer – good art invites, good art offers, good art does not force the mind of the viewer. (Im just making this up really, im actually a musician) To my untrained mind – you could allow the viewer a space to view, and trust that the spirit will move…… and therefore a wanderer on a spiritual quest, or one not even sure of a bus to ride - brave enough to view an art exhibition with a religious theme, will be rewarded by art and image, the jesus narrative – (and post moderns love a good story) - and the presence of the spirit. Brilliant.

What has happened is that a collective of artists and a missional community combined, have done Stations of the Cross for 3 years in a great theatre space in town, and 2 years outdoors in a public garden space.

My conviction that art and scripture and narrative, and journey it a significant medium rings true every year as feedback from the punters come in. with 15 stations, for every personality type, for every punters artistic bent, for each one - something about ONE station will move them – sometimes deeply. Somebody is Spirit jolted, bolted, malted, salted. Guaranteed. No Ginsu knives needed.

why I keep doing stations of the cross ??
there is a few reasons –

it’s a no brainer, its so right now. Images and narrative, scripture and sculpture. Brilliant.

It’s missional - its out in the community, accessible to the community.

It tells the Easter story, importantly, without talking it. Death and ressurection. It must be told. It must be told. It must be told In bold, in bold I’m told.

Because artists a people too – Hillart is yet to take off. There are too many songs, lets be honest, and not enough steel and wires and spraypaint. Stations gives opportunity for artists. An artist who after 3 years of working on this project will be studying art and theology at Regent college in Canada this year. Brilliant. Not only artists, but common variety tradespeople – plumbers, welders, builders, computer geeks get inspired/involved

It raises Christ’s profile. Seed is sown.

It gives artists, artist friends. We do art collectively and collaboratively.

It has made a calendar tradition for Hamiltonians out of the Easter festival. A ritual.

But my best reason might be this:

Stations of the cross can not only tell the Christ story in cultural ways, it can challenge topical cultural issues….

NZ has an appalling child abuse record. Little kids, babies are murdered, harmed, abused all the time. It’s sick. We’ve got some issues….
Last year we lost 2 twins, the kahui twins. Found dead, with broken legs broken ribs and head injury. 4 month old twins… in another case, a toddler was hung on a clothes line, pegged and beaten by 3 family members -

So station 6, this year was a clothes line installation – there was a rotating clothes, pegged with baby blankets of different size and shape. Some covered in blood. With pictures on the walls of nz back yards, kids toys on the floor. The station was:

JESUS MOCKED AND BEATEN
Then they spit on him and hit him on the head with the stick. They had their fun…

TITLE: hung out to dry
ARTIST: Mara Berzins and Liz Downing
MATERIALS: Cotton/lycra fabric, clothes line/wire, pegs, old toys, sound track

REFLECTIVE
Though innocent, Jesus was mocked and beaten. We reflect on the injustice to the innocent on our back door step.

Good ah.

Dave white
June 2008