Untitled Document

LUCY HAINSWORTH

Titles 1 Knot 2 Benedictus

Location 1 Nave N aisle 2 Cloister garth

Statement Durham Cathedral, unlike York Minster, seems bound closely into one period in our history, namely the stretch from the early Christian Saints (Cuthbert) through the Norse and Danish (Book of Kells) to the massive Norman pillars that uphold the nave. This was a period when carving, in both wood and stone, was paramount, and done to withstand outdoors and the ravages of time. The motifs are the complicated intertwined “knots” and attenuated animal figurations that mark out the “Celtic”. I have carved a knot in wood that is far cruder and simpler than the elaborate twistings of the ancient sculptures. It also endeavours to imply the natural knotting that takes place in the tree itself as it grows. A knot can imply a struggle, a form of conflict, but it is also a symbol of bonding: a commitment that what is tied shall never be undone. The second sculpture is the message of Benedictus, the blessing given by the Saint.