Peril, Faith and Hope: Multi-Venue Exhibition Explores Global Themes Through Methodist Modern Art Collection
As part of Bradford 2025, an exhibition drawn from the Methodist Modern Art Collection, “Everything is Connected”, will be displayed across five venues in the Bradford district: Bradford Cathedral, Ben Rhydding Methodist Church, South Square Centre in Thornton, St James’ Church in Thornton and Woodhouse Grove School. The exhibition will open on the first weekend of September, and runs from Saturday 6th September until Sunday 12th October.
Local artists were invited to respond to a work from the 5 which will be exhibited at Ben Rhydding Methodist Church. We were drawn to a painting called Crucified Tree Form by Theyre Lee-Elliott (1903 - 1988).
In Crucified Tree Form (tempera and gouache on paper, 1959), Lee-Elliott portrays a crucifixion in which the cross, the tree from which it was made, and the human body, are fused into a single suffering whole. This evokes a profound feeling of desolation. In particular I’m struck by how the painting is an acknowledgement of the innate physical and spiritual interconnectedness of the human and the natural worlds and is bleakly evocative of the unravelling of that relationship.
The sculpture we are presenting in dialogue with it is from a series we made in 2020 which explored the dovetailing of human craftsmanship with nature, inspired by stringed wooden musical instruments. Originally titled Alto, referencing the viola's human-like sound, this sculpture was inspired by the sense of hope arising from how the dovetailing of natural materials with the craft of luthiery creates potential for music.
Crucified Tree Form, like a touchstone, alters our perception of the themes of our sculpture, drawing out from it what we now feel to be a sense of loss and absence. The sculpture’s title has been changed to Doloroso, a musical term expressing sorrow and anguish which seems to speak to the spirit of our times.
Links:
Dovetailing project
Methodist Modern Art Collection
Everything is Connected venue details
Featured image is by Clare Dearnaley, with whom we collaborated on the Dovetailing project
