Gabriëlla Cleuren

Back in June 2009, I started making watercolours and photographs in St-Paul park. I was asked to work with the exterior of the cathedral in the 21st century. Thus, I had to feel and breathe in the character of the church itself and discovered its immense beauty and details: sculptures and shapes and ever-changing colours or the natural stones. From then on, I worked there regularly. The cathedral is a fantastic building a masterpiece, where all the details are of extraordinary quality. In 51 local London churches, Christopher Wren practised for the final construction and ornamental details before bringing them together in St-Paul's itself. To prevent some views from disappearing in the future due to tall buildings, I painted the cathedral from different perspectives and from all sides, so that we witness views that still exist in the 21st century. Changing the colour of the natural stone due to the weather was fascinating, going from pink to grey to glorious white which offered different possibilities for different paintings with different meanings. Since I always work in a symbolic way, the cathedral became a sign of beauty, spirituality, movement, joy and dark days. My work often foreshadows the future. Here, that seems to have been the case after what happened in London this year. The rest is overwhelming. The view of the Tate modern also has the meaning of contrast between ancient and modern times. Symbol of the past and connection to history. A recognisable place that people return to and are attached to. In our time, nature is increasingly being replaced by creations of people. Very little nature remains. It is worth dwelling on that. It is a memorable place for visitors from all over the world and young people pose like the statues behind them in the area. My work is to think about, not just to see. The inside, which was not meant to be painted, gave interesting contrasts between audience and performers. Singers like little ghosts brought life to the church. All the artworks were created to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the completion of St-Paul Cathedral, by Christopher Wren. Some were displayed in the crypt and opened by Mayor of London Alderman Nick Anstee on 20 September 2010.