Phoenix Series

The Phoenix series of paintings are 6ft oil paintings depicting the crucifixion of Christ on the cross. They have been exhibited in over 10 cathedrals in the UK usually displayed down the nave for up to two months each time.

 The image of an isolated human being in the process of being annihilated by the world, coupled with his own personal agony and torment, is one that speaks to each one of us. In the words of Soren Kierkegaard; “Deep within every man there lies the dread of being alone in the world, forgotten by God, over looked among the tremendous household of millions upon millions.”

Within my paintings is a deliberate resonance with this Christain image of suffering and death, but I try to translate what I feel about this familiar image into a new arrangement of colour and form. I work almost life size so that the viewer can enter into my paintings and identify with them. Yet at the same time because of the absence of the cross in the paintings and the vibrancy of the colours used, also aim to express that which survives this destruction- the human spirit.

Like the ancient Egyptian mythological bird the Phoenix, which destroyed it self only to arise from the ashes, the paintings point to the hope of resurrection and immortality.