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North Devon Journal Article

ARTIST HOPES DREAM-INSPIRED ARTWORK WILL HELP TO BRING RELIGIONS CLOSER

JOEL COOPER - JCOOPER@C-DM.CO.UK - 12:00 - 10 April 2008

A former soldier from Chulmleigh celebrated a successful art exhibition last weekend, which he said has helped him make peace with himself. Andy White's mosaic depiction of The Last Supper, Abraham's Children, has taken him more than four years to complete.

Made from recycled crockery from rubbish dumps and charity shops, the triptych was exhibited at Andy's home. Andy explained what inspired the piece, and what kept him going over the four years it took him to complete. He said: "The mosaic was initially modelled on the works of Albrecht Durer, an artist who sometimes worked in wood and made a similar depiction of the Last Supper in the 14th Century.

"In his piece he only depicted 11 apostles. I decided to make the twelfth apostle Mary Magdalene, and started her back in 2004 before I knew anything of the Da Vinci code.

"The piece is actually littered with secret images of the feminine throughout to show the suppression of women in modern-day religions."

Andy, a religious man, said the idea came to him in a dream, where he was present at the Last Supper.

He said: "The dream was very vivid and I remember all the famous religious figures seeming so down to earth and normal.

"It got me thinking about how Christianity can be seen as rather unaccessible to some people due to its main characters being depicted as wise, old men.

"In my work I have tried to make them as human as possible, young looking and emotional so people could relate to them."

The mosaic also depicts elements of the Muslim faith, in an attempt to unify the two religions, which are often seen as exclusive entities. Andy said: "I wanted to make a statement about the equality of faith and decided to show the grand mosque of Mecca in the background.

"It illustrates Christianity and Islam working together in a state of unity which, given the war in Iraq, probably hasn't been seen for some time. "I used to be a special forces soldier and was active during the Rhodesian war about 25 years ago. "I've found that making this mosaic has helped me find a bit of inner peace for the aggression and actions of my past."

Speaking of the success of exhibition opening, Andy said: "The day went really well, with about 200 people coming through, raising over £400 for the fire service benevolent fund.

"Some people came from as far away as London and Oxford to see the piece, which was very flattering for me.

"Hopefully it will have made them think a bit more about the subject matter and how religions really aren't that different.".

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