Winchester Cathedral

In 1994, Alice Kettle was commissioned to produce an altar frontal for the Holy Sepulchre Chapel at Winchester Cathedral.

Artist's Statement

My aim has been to complement the artistry, imagery and technique of the medieval wall-painting in the Holy Sepulchre Chapel. In wall-painting, paint is applied to plaster, giving strong, bright colours in places, softer tones where the paint has been absorbed into plaster, and white areas where the paint has come away with the passage of time. 

In keeping, my frontal is stitched much as a painter applies paint: layer upon layer of different thread, with lines and shades frequently redefined. The background is white and silver, a translation if you like of plaster into thread. Soft pastels produce a tone both impressionist and contemplative. An occasional, bold brush stroke reflects the strength of colour of the original wall paintings, and lends a gently contemporary note. But perhaps most importantly I have concentrated on gold thread. Traces of gold paint have been found on the angel wings on the East wall of the Chapel, whose paintings date from the 1160s. And gold thread imbues the frontal with a quiet, majestic glow.

In terms of visual design, this strength is also suggested by the symbolism of the pyramid. The attentive eye will notice a progression upward, from the solitary figure of the frontal, through the Deposition scene, to the Pantocrator above, Christ in majesty. Another device I have used is to draw the gaze of the viewer from outside the Chapel through the open arch and into the intimacy of the Chapel by continuing the legs of Christ around the near side of the altar. If the decay of time and death is one impression of the Chapel, then hidden strength and majesty is surely the underlying statement. I have sought to hint at this mystery, and to complement these beautiful paintings in my own medium of thread.

Alice Kettle