VISITORS to Salisbury Cathedral will be greeted by a new Christmas-themed light installation.
The Star of Bethlehem, by internationally-recognised artist Bruce Munro is a literal and visual abstraction of the text from the New Testament, Matthew 2:1-12, telling the story of the wise men following a star to find baby Jesus, the Messiah, translated into Morse code and communicated through a series of dots and dashes, or short and longer pulses of light.
This animation of radiating lines of light is projected onto the still water of the font – it grows to its fullest extent in two minutes 20 seconds and remains at its full extent for 70 minutes, while the biblical text scrolls along each point of the star.
Mr Munro said: “The concept for this installation was not as easy a subject as I first thought – illuminated lights and star shapes populate our cities, towns and villages at this time of year so my instinct was to approach this opportunity from another direction. This ‘star’ is one of a new series of artworks that I have been experimenting with, thinking about, and making, which incorporate light and Morse code.
“They combine my love for the written word with the animated visualisation of natural light effects, producing both patterns and decipherable messages.”
Canon Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral, Sarah Mullally says: “The simplicity of the code translated into dots and lines of light is transformed by its configuration as a star – it becomes ‘more than the sum of its parts’ as it radiates and shimmers on the mirror-like surface of the font.
“In the same way, the celestial body that Matthew describes has become a powerful and emotive symbol which points us to Jesus’ birth as ‘the light of the world’ here on earth and its implications for humankind.”
The installation can be viewed until February 4, 2015 and is best viewed from 4pm onwards.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here