A 'stunning' exhibition of textile art on the theme of the last book of the Bible has gone on display this week at Ripon Cathedral.
“Threads Through Revelation” is on a tour of UK cathedrals. Consisting of fourteen large scale panels – each nearly 3 metres high - by textile artist Jacqui Parkinson, it took three and a half years to complete and uses vivid silks and literally millions of stitches to explore the Book of Revelation.
Jacqui Parkinson is a textile artist whose work has been on display in many cathedrals over the past twelve years. Her exhibitions have included different themes including prayer, grief, creation, service and rites of passage.
Four years ago Jacqui started on an ambitious piece of work on the themes of the Book of Revelation, one which has inspired, puzzled and challenged people for hundreds of years .
Visitors will see one artist’s take on some of the most famous images from the bible, such as the four horsemen of the apocalypse and Armageddon.
Jacqui said, “it doesn’t matter whether you know a lot or nothing at all about the Revelation. Through my stitching I hope to bring people into the drama of a book that is both encouraging and scary.
“John of Patmos recorded an amazing series of visions. Here you’ll see my response to most of the images in the book and get a sense of the startling, stunning and challenging events. I hope that many people will feel like looking at Revelation again with fresh, hopeful eyes.”
David Wilkinson, The Principal, St Johns College, Durham University writes:
"Jacqui Parkinson has approached Revelation with all the seriousness of a professional theologian but also as someone who wants to engage the text with her passion and training in art. In working with her own art form she brings insights to the text which sometimes reinforce, sometimes question and sometimes push further the academic commentaries. This is a fine piece of work and gives a distinct contribution to the scholarship on Revelation. But more than that it engages the artist and the lay person in an imaginative exploration of God's Word."
For more information visit http://www.revelation-threads.co.uk/