Australians are enjoying a rare long weekend with the traditional Easter extended break coinciding with Anzac Day Public Holiday.
In today’s Australian newspaper, Simon Smart writes an excellent column illustrating that “there’s much that links Easter and Anzac Day, and both have a profound power to move us”, and he goes on to say, “Somewhere behind the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns remains the strange and ancient account of a resurrection; the glimmer of hope that death is not the end of the story.
Click here is read the article “A sombre spiritual journey from Anzac Cove to Calvary”.
In a similar vein, on Good Friday, Father Steve Sinn had us looking into Barbara Campbell’s black painting hanging at the entrance of St Canice’s Church in Kings Cross, titled “Extinction”. The art work appears simply as layer upon layer of thick black paint representing Christ’s death, but Steve urges all to look closely and see that there is a fine crack running through it; a crack revealing light beyond the darkness; life beyond death.
'Extinction' by Barbara Campbell
Michael, I’ve finally looked at this, have been looking at your beautiful video of yesterday’s mass and then I got caught up in your website which is amazing. I hope you have lots of viewers because your photographs and travels and writing are so special.
In answer to your message, I’m just amazed at what you managed to capture of the painting considering it wasn’t in a photographic studio but up on a wall. It was actually photographed for the exhibition in 2002 (I think) in a photographic studio but those photos aren’t nearly so detailed.
I seem to remember that I wrote the text in various colours, yellow, blue and red, as you can see. And I can’t even remember what I wrote, should have noted it down but the idea was exactly that, the IDEA of text which has been written over as in a palimpsest. Some of the black thick paint was also words, some just paint. You’ve really resurrected this old painting, you and Steve. Thank you so much, will let you know later which ones I like best but at the moment am about to watch ‘Shroud of Turin’ on SBS. I still believe in it.
Thanks so much, Michael, Barbara