BLOOD TEARS FAITH DOUBT

I went to see 'BLOOD TEARS FAITH DOUBT' at the Courtauld Institute. The artworks had been selected from two sources - the Courtauld collection (old) and the Arts Council collection (new). They are displayed dimly lit, on dark painted walls - grey, blue, turquoise. They must have been following the National Gallery's show 'The Sacred Made Real' earlier in the year, which used similar presentation. The resulting atmosphere feels more like a museum than a gallery, maybe an attempt to see the older devotional works in something of their original religious context.

The work that most interested me was Siobhan Hapaska's St Christopher. It's a waxwork man sitting on the floor against a wall. He has tanned skin, long black hair and a beard. He wears a purple robe and his legs appear amputated at the knee. I remember a friend seeing a semi-animatronic waxwork and thinking it was real. I was amazed, to me it was clearly not a real person. But St. Christopher is still, and looking down; to me it is very close to seeming real. He has hair everywhere; his chest, arms, even his fingers. It's the opposite of the idealised religious image. That for me is what was surprising. St. Christopher wasn't a biblical figure, but in my head I generalised him as a religious man along with those who wrote the Bible. So to see him as a real man brought that home, that all the people in those ancient stories, were hairy people like us. Obviously I knew that, but encountering St. Christopher made me think about it. I think the work's primary function in the exhibition was actually to represent doubt - apparently the Catholic Church doubt historical details of his existence. Doubt is also inherent to the wax medium - is the representation real?

St. Christopher is paired with Caravaggio's depiction of Thomas; putting his finger in Christ's wound to confirm his reality. The work is intended to convince the viewer too - Thomas' other hand reaches out of the canvas, inviting you to touch Christ's wound by proxy. The pairing of works does provide interesting links to think about or discuss, although the doubt of Christ and doubt of a historical christian are different.

The rest of the exhibition is simillar; thematic links are thoughtfully presented by the curators. It's jarring to look at the old works next to the new though. I found myself comparing them rather than looking at works in their own formal contexts. I thought that the show's themes could have been better explored by being more focused, and using fewer artists.

I spoke to Hannah L. Fuller, one of the curators. She said they had questioned their position in devising the show, given that none of them are 'religious', although one of the team reported a 'religious re-awakening' following the project. I asked the reason for their subject choice. She said that it had emerged partly from their surprise at the number of contemporary works in the Arts Council collection with religious content or overtones.

Thanks to the MA students for their work curating the show.

Links:
Blood Tears Faith Doubt info - Courtauld Institute
The Sacred Made Real review (p.5-7) - Jenny Evans