The People’s Chapel

John McDonald with Kathy Smith

When you start a journey, you rarely know exactly how it might meander or, indeed, how it might end. Nine months ago, Scottish born, Derby based artist, John McDonald (The ButterflyCryArtist as he is also known) was commissioned to run the Themes of Life project. Based around the Andover Cemetery within which the chapel sits, the commission was to engage local people with this unique and significant space. Not only is it a place to remember, a place to rest and a place to commemorate, it is a living space, vibrant with nature, busy with school children, office workers, teenagers and dog walkers, rushing through, chatting together or relaxing on a quiet bench somewhere. It is a place of stories and where new stories are made.

The work in this exhibition has been created by the artists and poets McDonald has gathered around him. Like the cemetery itself, it brims with history and memory, personal and local, but also with nature and the environment, the ‘themes of life’ around us.

‘The People’s Chapel’ perfectly describes the transition which is taken place. They have put their mark on this space both physically in this exhibition, and in ways that are not so visible.

For many a personal transformation has also taken place. Not only have they claimed the space, but for some, under McDonald’s guidance, they have claimed the term ‘artist’ for the very first time. For others, the term was all ready a part of them, for some it had remained hidden through time and circumstance, and with McDonald’s help, they have rediscovered it once more. Is an empowering identity, enabling both the artist and the viewer, through the work, to connect with the world more deeply, and one which this exhibition proves, is rightly deserved.

22. Cemetry Gate, by Carol Capper, Acrylic on campus, 93″ by 31.5″ POA

‘Cemetery Gate’ was painted between 7 February – 20 June 2020. John McDonald’s enthusiasm for large canvases and love of colour were contagious. He suggested this complex composition. Thanks John! I am pleased with the result of my lockdown labours. I needed to create depth and space. With pale colours, I insert air between the viewer and the distant St Mary’s Church, a technique used by Leonard Cusden in his 1950/60’s railway posters. A richer, more vibrant pallet gives the foreground a larger than life quality, as with some of David Hockney’s work.

23. Richard Wilson – Pilot, by Will Jackson, Acrylics and oil glaze on canvas, 29.5″ by 29.5″ POA

24. Ivy by Alex Marshall, Acrylic and paper on canvas, 60″ by 36″ £350

When you look at ivy-clad gravestones, what do you see? I see the building blocks of life, a food source for pollinators and birds, a refuge for spiders, a competitive player in a battle for space, light and nutrients. I see a bringer of new life, rising from a symbol of death. The pollinators are a nod to ecology, the ash twig is a nod to ash dieback disease, the black bud metamorphosing into a gravestone is a nod to the fact that we, humans, ARE our environment.

Untitled by John McDonald, acrylic and pencil on wallpaper

21. The Shame of Andover, by John McDonald, Acrylic on Canvas, 72″ by 36″ WIP

7. The Green Man, Rolf Smith, Wood Carving £400

8. Untitled, Rolf Smith, Carved wood panel, 47″ by 80″ WIP

3. Inside Fear and a Pink Floor, Marta Lichocinska, Acrylic on Canvas, 30″ by 30″ £300 – all proceeds go to Hurstbourne Tarrant C Of E Primary School

4. Accidently Glasgow by Marta Lichocinska, Acrylic on Canvas, 36″ by 36″ £700

Butterfly Cry by John McDonald

9. St Mary’s Chapel – Gods Green Acre, by Tina Scahill, Acrylic, 29″ by 19.5″ £175

Gods Green Acre was the starting point for the image. The charity that looks to preserving these historical spaces allowed me to research the site and find out that James Pollard donated his garden to the church for the use of the parish, pollards garden is where the rectory for the clergy now stands.

10. The Fallen Angel, Danni Targett, Acrylic on Canvas POA.

11. Baby’s Breath, Lou Dixon, 36″ by 36″ £600

Baby’s Breath”, named after a popular Victorian flower, is a representation of this sad and awful story from the famous Andover Workhouse. Left with nothing, but a dead baby in her arms, this woman was forced to walk the mile long journey from Junction Road to St Mary’s Cemetery, alone, to bury her beloved infant alone and without ceremony. You can read more about the Andover Workhouse at www.workhouses.org.uk/Andover

12. A Dreamless Reality, by Katherleen Moore and Lou Dixon, Acrylic, Ink, Pen and Charcoal on canvas.£500

14. The Blue Lady, by Emily Marsh, Acrylic on Canvas, 32″ by 16″.£450

16. Mother and Child by Badger Marsh, Acrylic and Gold Leaf on Canvas, 12″ by 30″ £200

6. Andover Town, Tina Scahill, Acrylic, 29″ by 19.5″ £175

A reflection of the town as it is today looking towards St Mary’s church as it’s centre. The changing landscape of the town centre prompted me to research its different facades and how it has come to be. The movement of people and movement of time plays a part in this image.

17. Zacred by Kathleen Moore, Acrylic on Canvas, 20″ by 20″ NFS

A modern icon symbolising my decade in Andover; my connection to the town. Rather than religious devotion, it shows the devotion of a parent to their child; a new life with new priorities and responsibilities. Green for youth & growth, stars for space and time. The ‘heart hands’ are a gesture of the younger generations, used here as a contemporary take on the Sacred Heart, to represent unconditional love. My life in Andover has been only as a mother. Andover knows me as nothing else…

13. Unfinished: A portrait of Emily Marsh, an Artist in Andover, by Katherine Jones, Acrylic on Canvas, 30″ by 30″. NFS

48. Anderras Old Town Jail, by Lucy Bacon, Pencil on Canvas, 20” by 20” £30

My name is Lucy Bacon and I’ve lived in Andover for ten years. I love art and thanks to my father I got involved in CAS:AIR Themes of Life. I decided to focus on the Andover Old Town Jail door on Bridge Street. I’ve always loved history and have been intrigued by this door since I first saw it. I started thinking about the present situation with the jail system and the speech bubbles idea come out of these thoughts. The words used I’ve read about in newspaper articles and heard on TV programs about jails past and present.

15. The Stone Widow, Emily Marsh, Acrylic on Canvas, 48″ by 25.5″ £900

18. The Greiving Widow, Danni Targett, Acrylic on Canvas, 20″ by 16″ POA

28. My Future Past, by Badger Marsh, Acrylic and poetry on canvas, 29″ by 30″ £175

26. Fly Away Home, Freys Gibbs, Acrylic on Canvas, 22” by 22” POA

27. Mary, by Badger Marsh, Plywood and ink pens. SOLD

Leaving a Trace by Annette Hobbs, Textile, 28″X12″. NFS

This piece is based on the grave of Clarice Beryl Joyce in Andover Cemetery. A child who died aged 3 years 3 months 1909.

25. (detail) The Angel of Andover in the sky of 2020, by John McDonald, Acrylic on canvas, 84″ by 84″ WIP

The Cathedral of Art, a collaborative installation housing the children’s art exhibition, NFS

Royal Flying Corps Memorial by Tim Thorton, Ceramics, 46″ by 16″ POA

A memorial stone for the RFC, whose first fatality was by Stonehenge and buried in Andover Cemetery – the RFC itself passed away in April 2018, to be replaced by the RAF. Rather than the prim and proper look of a war memorial, this is an aircraft wing tip protruding from the ground that has aged and weathered with exposure to the elements. The top face gives the establishment’s presentation of the RFC to posterity, whereas the underside gives some of the human and social cost incurred in achieving its heroic victories.

29. Knights of the Skies, Tim Thornton, Ceramics, wood, fabric, 46″ by 16″, and 24″ by 22″ by 22″ POA

A section of a fuselage, showing the fragility of the aircraft of the day, houses a matrix of tiles showing, in words and images, aspects pf the RFC other than their popular heroic image. As all stories have two sides to them, the tiles can be turned round to see both sides of the story.

19. Ghostly by Nigel Chilton, Charcoal, Chalk, and Pastel on canvas, 12″ by 30″ POA

In terms of how creating this made me feel, I was amazed I was able to do it. I didn’t know I had it in me. I still look at it and wonder how I managed that. Knowing it would be exhibited, I think pushed me to greater effort. I’m no artist, but I didn’t want to let the side down, so to speak.

30. Accidental Angel, by Annette Hobbs, Acrylic on Canvas, After a work by Anthony Scullins 2007, 18″ by 24″ POA

This painting is from a similar painting by Anthony Scullion i saw in an exhibition in 2007 /8 . I liked it then and still like his work

31. All Good Clean Fun, Lou Dixon, 40″ by 40″ POA

Future life, by Alan Lichocinski, acrylic on canvas

“Aliens are out there somewhere… one day we will meet them, art will show them the way”

Rat, Oscar Scahill, pencil on paper

32. Lockdown Me, by Zachary Moore, Acrylic and pen, 15.5″ by 23.5″ £50

33. Circle of Planets, Heidi Dixon, Acrylic on canvas, 11.5″ by 16.5″ NFS

34. Grandad, Marlowe Dixon, Charcoal on paper, 9″ by 11″ NFS

35. Marlowe’s Blue, Marlowe Dixon, 14″ by 14″ £20

36. Frida’s Animalitos, by Heidi Dixon, Acrylic on canvas, 23″ by 16″NFS

37. Grandads Memory Tree, by Heidi Dixon, Acrylic on Canvas, 8″ by 9.5″ NFS

38. Grandads Fuchsia by Marlow Dixon, 23″ by 32″ £200

39. Lost, Marlowe Dixon, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 18″ by 18″ £50

40. Six Months of Waiting, by Heidi, Lou, and Marlowe Dixon, Acrylic and charcoal on canvas, 60″ by 36″ POA

41. acrylic in canvas paper no label, Heidi Dixon.

42. St Mary’s Cemetry Montage, by Tina Scahill, Acrylic £75

Using the medium of photography to investigate the site – one of the oldest in Andover. I montages the images into a peice about ‘Andover saved’ new hope, new building and a new centre which will doing out of the old and growth always sees change.

43. Gently Giving, by a Charlotte Chillcott, Aged 13, Acrylic on Canvas POA

44. Ariel View by Marta Lichocinska

45. Birth, Life and Death, by Tina Scahill, Photography project £30.00. 46. Dormancy and Death, by Tina Scahill, Print and photography mixed media £30

47. Marlowe and Heidi, by Lou Dixon, 30” by 37” £300

49. Tree of Life, Tina Scahill £50