Hexham Abbey opened an installation of art created from origami angels suspended over the chancel of the Abbey church on 26th June 2021. Even though the installation was put in place almost three months ago now, there is no published end date yet, meaning that there is plenty of time still to pop along and have a look. The installation was envisaged by the cathedral team as a way to honour those who had had their lives changed, or become victims to the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic.
The installation makes up part of the re-opening event for the beautiful abbey church, an opening long anticipated after the last year. During the creation of the installation, up until the day before it was raised, members of the public could come in and dedicate angels to people. The angels themselves became a community project as they were created by volunteers from local communities. The angels themselves make a beautiful display up in the height of the chancel ceiling, lit in multiple colours they appear as an ever changing, though constant and static display.
Hexham abbey is an ancient religious building, with the oldest parts of its building containing re-used roman stone and dating from the 6th century. Throughout history it has contained many artworks from sculpture to painting, some of these dating from the medieval period can still be seen within the abbey today, it’s thought to have one of the largest collections of late medieval artwork of any cathedral church in Britain. So, while the idea of having installation art within cathedrals appears to be a new and vibrant use of this space to us in the twenty first century, it’s actually as old a tradition as religious art itself.
Even without artwork, the beautiful architecture of the abbey itself stands as a beautiful reminder of the excellence of ancient masons. While quite a bit of the church has been restored, there are still a lot of original architectural features in there. Even without an installation, it’s still a beautiful destination for anyone to enjoy.
On angel Wings – At Hexham abbey currently.
Aisling on Art 