To Ely yesterday to see the exhibition of sculptures by Sean Henry, ‘Am I my brother’s keeper?’ at the Cathedral.
Cain posed the question to God in the book of Genesis, anticipating the answer ‘No’. There was no direct answer; God grants Cain his life as a fugitive. Christians would answer ‘yes’. Jesus says of our behaviours towards the lonely, the sick the poor, the imprisoned ‘as much as you did it to the least of these you did it to me’ (Matthew 25). The challenge posed by answering ‘yes’ is addressed by Sean Henry’s sculptures.
‘Historically the niches of the Cathedral would have been inhabited by sculptures of saints with a capital ‘S’. Sean Henry makes us think again about who are the ‘saints’ – as well as being the ‘super-holy’ they are also everyone, because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. The sculptures in this exhibition are not of named individuals, they are representative of us all and speak of the interconnectedness of us all.’
