THE LAST SUPPER - LENT 2013

'BREAKING OF BREAD' BY LAURA GASCOIGNE - THE TABLET

"In a sequence of Lenten paintings, a group of artists have recreated the sharing of meals in the Old and New Testaments. The resulting work has startling theological and iconographic depth."

Link to The Last Supper exhibition catalogue here

In 2012 the chairman of the Friends of St Michael’s Church, David Hiam, collaborated with artist Charles MacCarthy to commission a series of the Stations of the Cross. Fourteen different visual artists created one Station each. The result was a stunning exhibition which drew many visitors and importantly for the artists involved, was a voyage of spiritual discovery.

In 2013 Charles MacCarthy created a highly personal interpretation of the Last Supper. “There are so many themes within the description in John’s Gospel of the Last Supper than one could have made a number of quite difference sequences. However, throughout the Gospels the preparation and sharing of meals is given considerable importance. Over half of our sequences include a meal of some kind. Other themes include humility, betrayal and denial, as well as the powerful, unifying force of love”.

The chosen artists were commissioned on a wet and windy autumn day in 2012. The response was enthusiastic; all have been captured by the power of the Last Supper’s narrative.

Charles MacCarthy states, “My hope for the fourteen very diverse works that we will produce is ‘That they all may be one’ “.

1. The Passover (Exodus 12: 5-8, 12-14) - Peter Stilwell

2. The Hospitality of Abraham - the Old Testament Trinity (Genesis 18: 1-8) - Alison Neal

3. The Wedding at Cana (John 2: 1-8) - Simon Dorrell

4. The Entry into Jerusalem (Mark11:1-11) - Nick Bush

5. The Supper at Bethany (John 12: 1-3) - Andrea Mclean

6. The Upper Room (Luke 22: 7-13) - Julienne Braham

7. Jesus washes the Disciples feet (John 13: 3-15) - Xavier Hughes

8. The Betrayal of Judas (John 13: 21-27, 30) - Jane Tudge

9. Peter - denial (John 13: 36-38) - Susannah Royle

10. The Institution of the Eucharist (Luke 22: 14-19) - Lois Hopwood

11. In my Father’s House are many rooms (John 14: 1-4) - Anthea Stilwell