Alexander De Cadenet At St Stephens, Wallbrook, London: There is a saying, ‘you are the apple of my eye’, apparently this saying came into the English language when King James fell in love in 1642 with women. He wanted everyone to know he was in love with her so that no one would take her from him; she never fell in love with him though. The saying has found its meaning by implying, you are the most important person to me.
Alexander De Cadenet’s work is an experience that can be enjoyed and endured in spiritual release while meditating on the bronze apple
The bronze apple of creation called ‘Creations’ that Alexander De Cadenet placed on the Henry Moore Alter in the centre of the St Stephen Walbrook Church, City of London invokes an understanding around the apple of desire. The piece allows for a confrontation with one’s own soul. As you sit and look at the beautiful bronze apple you are given an experience of reflection into your inner world, the Christopher Wren dome of the Church brings housing to enable clarity and enlightenment. The elegantly curated sacred objects and architectural masterpieces, at St Stephen Walbrook Church, catalyses a profound spiritual understanding, an experience one can only stand under in respect after all the original meaning of curating is too look after people’s souls, sacred art, environments and sacred objects. Priest Revd Jonathan Evans of St Stephens Walbrook, who is taking his spiritual role as a curator of contemporary art and architecture, in the City of London, is bringing a refreshing light of hope for the complications that the City of London holds.
Placing the bronze apple, ‘Creations’ referencing the apple of creation, in the church, Alexander and the Reverand are making a very bold statement with respect to our relationship to those whom we hold dear, allowing a confrontation with the process of God in how we are relating spiritually to the ‘apple of desire’, rebellion, the sanctity of marriage, temptation, demonisation and the universal knowledge that comes from ingesting the journey in to enlightenment and the expansive understanding of the Creator and Creation.
In doing this artist Alexander De Cadenet makes a brave move in laying himself bare to the journey into Grace and in the way he challenges we relate to consumerism, materialism and the sense of ‘trophy’ through the bronze and silver life burgers positioned around the church. If fully open to the process of deliverance, the elevated ceilings in the church and the Reverend allows a journey beyond corrupting or interfering forces in allowing God to receive souls in the purity and sanctity of his chambers, enabling a journey into a true love, recognised through one’s relationship with God, with deep insight given through the atonement of deep understanding of the journey of consciousness. The safety of the church enables a release from egoic and corrupting forces.
Alexander De Cadenet has taken this bold step of placing the apple of his relationship with his child and the mother of his child, all of which have taken a bite out of the apple. They have consumed, and pro-created enabled their desire and relationship to find its placement in the Christopher Wren Church, St Stephen Walbrook, City of London.
This is an experience that can be enjoyed and endured in spiritual release while meditating on the bronze apple, the power of the architecture, on the story of Adam and Eve, the apple of creation and understanding the intentions of the church:
O God, make the door of this house, wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship, narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife,
Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter’s power.
God make the door of this house the gateway to Thine eternal kingdom’.
This prayer written by Bishop Thomas Ken is at one time thought to have inscribed on the door of St Stephen Walbrook.
Nestled around a business of traders and economic frenzy, yet once home to market traders; grocers, painters, stainers, the City Liveryman of the area whom all were supported in making fair trades through inspired understanding around wealth. Around the exhibition Alexander’s Life Burgers are placed, directly symbolising the fast food drive for objectivism, status, collection, materialism and wealth.
As artists that create from a material position of collection, we have to consider the experiential relevance to our work. The value of how we inspire others to journey into themselves and relate to others through compassion or empathy. As collectors, we are catalysed to consider the depth of value of our collection., how it serves. As writers, we ask ourselves about the process of reflection and the consideration to others in the impact we create. The value of the artist in the material value of artwork is limited unless there is an experiential journey experienced, in those that relate to us as the artist, artwork and writing on the subject. The content of the creative process and the structure or housing of the experience of that process, the intention of the curation when working with spiritual experience is highly valuable and needs the recommendation in its development, through the support of the care and journey of people’s souls. In people understanding and experiencing their universal presence, much of the art world creates egoic frameworks of concept and self-importance, yet finding uncorrupted spaces that enable union and a move into an integrated position of experience enables a journey on to a more enlightened position. However the journey of moving past the ego, interference and corruption needs a deep understanding or curation, it is, after all, a lifelong endeavour into an expression of light. However or whomever you are on this journey, the inspiration of living lightly is highly attractive but shouldn’t be seen as an ‘objective’ or the desired outcome, when entering a consciousness of expanded awareness without the judgements or undermining qualities of the ego one just is, the expression of one’s soul and integration in to the community of others enables a communion with universal consciousness allowing one’s presence to simply be, without limit and attuned to the universal frequencies. The universal frequencies or energies can hold much complication to the awakening person, who seeks to find freedom and expresses desire through their spiritual enlightenment, yet without the healing of soul wounds, these projections magnify into other cultures of understanding, conceptually, spiritually and through expressions of behaviour in promiscuity, voyeurism and ego. The artist, writer, curator working with the spiritual world of creativity has a lot to navigate in providing a safe passage away from the rebellion of ‘God’, the apple ‘Creations’ is a reminder to us of the call, the experience back in to the safety of oneness in a sacred context, beyond the more complex pathways of passage.
The City of London is steeped in history and spirituality but is easily over run by political, economic frenzy, yet used to be a supporting model for life to be experienced through the deeper content of spiritual value and understanding around balance and harmony, creatively and in craftsmanship through the churches and City Livery Companies.
What else is possible in enabling the clarity and curative power to support creative processes with those that truly inspire the journey of reflection and enlightenment to live and enjoy creativity, economics, companionship, collaboration, trade with Grace on the journey of awakening?
Words: Amanda McGregor Left Photo Amanda McGregor Right Courtesy of Alexander de Cadenet
Amanda McGregor is a writer, artist, curator – Visit www.belovedlight.com
“Creations” by Alexander de Cadenet, St Stephen Walbrook from 3 October until 3 November 2017.
“Art Awakening Humanity”, 25 October, St Stephen Walbrook – https://ssw.churchsuite.co.uk/events/standzg2
Awakened Artists – https://www.awakenedartists.com
On the 25 October at Stephen Walbrook, there will be talks from some persons on the path of awakening.