Youki Hirakawa ‘A Candle' in Historic Exhibition to celebrate 800 Year Anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral

Anima Mundi have the great honour of having been invited to present ‘A Candle' by Youki Hirakawa, alongside 20 important and iconic works of art, by world renowned modern and contemporary artists, including Craigie Aitchison, Sir Tony Cragg, Martin Creed, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Dame Elisabeth Frink, Sir Antony Gormley, Bill Woodrow, Bruce Munro, Grayson Perry, Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Mark Wallinger, Henry Moore, Conrad Shawcross and Lynn Chadwick in the milestone exhibition 'Spirit and Endeavour’ marking the 800th Anniversary of Salisbury Cathedral.

The sculptures and installations will be sited within the Cathedral, the Cathedral Close and within the city precinct. The exhibition, curated and co-ordinated by Jacquiline Creswell, deals with the human response over eight centuries to both the claims of Christian faith and to humanity’s own potentialities.  

’Spirit and Endeavour' takes place from 1st April until 25th October 2020 at Salisbury Cathedral.

More about Youki Hirakawa's 'A Candle’:

The flame is a profound symbol of enduring faith, appearing in mythology from across the globe, signifying the eternal, representing everlasting life and light, bringing with it a focus of meditation and a sense of inner peace. It consumes us, reverting us to dust, when mortality departs our own empty shell, returning it to the infinite. The candle is a symbol used in many sacred places by many faiths. Each candle has its own time frame, the flame becomes its animator denoting a vessel through which the eternal flame passes. In the work ‘Fallen Candle’ the candle is laid down on its side, it burns faster than usual and the wax of the candle melts and draws a form denoting the path of time passed. It is a poetic work that Hirakawa acknowledges as showing his concern with ’the way that time seems to be leaking in the chaos of the modern world’. Quietly bringing in to question methods by which we may be speeding up the processes of personal, ecological or / and spiritual combustion. The subject of cause and effect is present and is another ubiquitous theme. There is a deep spiritual connectedness present in these works. Hirakawa’s vision shows a profound awareness that everything has a duration, but this vision has at its own burning heart, a secret fire - an awareness of the alchemists gnostic yearnings for immortality or renewal. Through shifting our perceptions of time we become more aware that all things are connected, and in that there is hope and faith that perhaps all remains eternal.

For more information on ‘Spirit and Endeavour’ click here

For more information on Youki Hirakawa click here