Mural in the Church of the Holy Shroud on Podil
Cold encaustic
300x500cm
"It was an incredible, spiritual experience"
In the orthodox tradition, women were not allowed to paint religious icons or in churches, so it was a great honour that the priest of Church of the Holy Shroud (Pokrovska) chose my work for a mural. His church is an Orthodox Ukrainian church in Podil (an ancient part of Kiev in the Ukraine). Built in 1766 in the Ukrainian-Baroque style by Ivan Grigorovich-Barsky, it serves the same purpose today as it did then.
I chose to follow the traditions of the famous historical icon painters: to fast for 3 days, then go to confession, stand for hours praying, carry out sacred rights, and then fast for the entire period of painting (1 month). For this effort the priest provided written prayers, and blessed me so that I may both consider and carry out the work. Often I would be locked inside the church while carrying out the work until about 9pm or even stay in its 16th century crypt. It was an incredible, spiritual experience.
Detail #1
"Each figure is 2m high, and begins 3m from the ground"
There was significant cultural conflict within the aesthetic development of the work. In this Baroque church, the priest wanted a 12th Century-iconic feel mixed with its 18th Century origins, and a 19th Century Russian-Italian style such as found in St. Petersburg. To follow strict Canonical rules of detail and somehow marry them together in these different styles was an impossible task.
In the end I chose to use my own traditional style (that does not refer to any particular century): inspiration for faces came from aesthetics rather than realism, hands use classical baroque-style gestures while robes and posture kept to rigid Canonical representations of Saints. Each figure is 2m high, and begins 3m from the ground. The techniques for painting requires rigorous thought so that the perspective and the texture remain consistent when it is viewed from a distance.
