Exhibition Embarks On St Thomas Way
The exhibition “Re-Making Maps of the Mind: Medieval and Modern Journeys“ is about to go on a journey starting with Abergavenny. Next week it will leave Hereford Cathedral, where it was part of the launch events for St Thomas Way last month. Crossing the border into Wales, it will next be installed in St Mary’s Priory in Abergavenny, also known as “the Westminster Abbey of South Wales”.
Abergavenny – ‘GateWay to Wales’
The market town of Abergavenny is one of the 13 stops along the St Thomas Way, near the Black Mountains between Longtown and Usk. The circular walk begins at the Priory, winds through the town and down to the meadows alongside the river, finally ending at the ruins of the medieval Castle.
15th August – The Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The exhibition will open next Wednesday 15th August. It happens to be the festival day for the patron saint of the Priory Church, St Mary. We will be installing the exhibition after morning mass at the far end of the Priory church because this is the oldest part of the building. These works will look very different in their new surroundings, most importantly because of the light. Looking at them in this new context, it will be very interesting to see how they might change. There is a beautiful chapel to the right of the main altar full of light, especially in the afternoons. This will be the setting for some of the works that are currently in the darkly-lit Crypt of Hereford Cathedral.
Under The Tower – Ring of 10
‘The Map of Mundi’, the largest piece in the exhibition, will also be displayed very differently in the priory. The adventurous plan, suggested by Canon Mark Soady, is to suspend this piece from the Tower ceiling. It will hang just behind the crossing altar in front of the choir. With no 800-year-old wall behind it, the translucency of this huge paperwork will become more apparent. From the artist’s point of view, this is very exciting; this piece will connect with the famous ring of 10 bells “the finest ring of 10 bells in Christendom”.
I’ll write more about that once the exhibition is installed…
Visit the Exhibition in England & in Wales:
“Re-Making Maps of the Mind: Medieval and Modern Journeys” continues at Hereford Cathedral until Tuesday 14th August 2018
and at St Mary’s Priory Abergavenny Wednesday 15th August – Monday 3 September 2018