ASPECTS of BLACK 2020 - 2023

Location:  Manchester Cathedral and in this Gallery

Date: 2020-2023 Video

 

Manchester Cathedral invites to visit this virtual art exhibition. View the pictures individually, or as a slideshow, with music by Angela Linders and Dorothea Stockmar.

On a metaphorical level black refers to something we can see without seeing. Something we have to explore by ourselves. It re-joins the eternal with the temporal, revealing hope.

“Faith, and that of others is all we have“

As individuals, each one of us is unique – and accordingly, so are our strategies coping withcrisis. From time to time we may discover solace in a piece of art.

What touches me most with the art of Philip Wharton is the fact that it is representing an unbelievable amount of hope. Hope which wants to be explored especially during times like this when our every-day-life seams to fall out of control. While some people feel displaced and unconnected to this world Philip finds help in expressing through art. The Artist makes us discover Minerva (Menrefa) an Etruscan goddess related to wisdom and arts and whose name comes from the Latin word manas, consciousness, or mens.

While going with the flow Philip’s art breaks through the level of consciousness revealing trust and hope. “Having faith,” Philip mentioned, “isn’t always 24CT gold sunlight. Faith, and that of others is all we have. “

When I asked Philip what hope does mean to him, in terms such as colour, shape and sound I felt positively enlightened by what he did say:

If hope had a colour, it would be white. The colour of an artwork by myself, entitled “Night Owl”. 
 

If hope could be touched, it would be the raw material of my art permitting myself to be happy as it was wished for me. 
 

If hope had a shape, it would be my latest work.

If hope had a smell, it would be that of freshly cut grass and fresh air. 

If hope had a sound, it would be the sound of rustling leaves on a hot summer’s evening. 

If hope could move, it would be laid back and have loads of time.

If hope could have a temperature, it would be a relaxing warm soak in the bath. 

Hope is the light around darkness waiting. If there is a Rosetta Stone as such to all this, it was my artwork, as it knew where I was when I didn’t.

Philip Wharton wrote ‘Hi Dorothea, It’s amazing how we are so far apart. Different cultures yet our humanity bridges any and all boundaries.  This is hope.  Our work is a bridge of hope.  Me at one end. You at the other.  And we meets in the middle.’

 

Excerpt from: “The Wheel of Mourning / From Grief to Relief” by Dorothea Stockmar

ISBN 978-3-940781-76-5 edition bodoni (2016)