After my exhibition in this church in 2021 I started talking to the Reverend Andrew Whitehead about the possibility of making a cross for St Agnes Church in Cawston. On my first visit, my eyes were drawn to the remnants of red ochre paint on the nave wall. I felt that the transformative process of oxidisation that occurs to create red ochre pigment was the link I was looking for to use oxidised metal and plaster for this project. I was worried that any cross I made would intrude itself on the beauty and integrity of the space and interrupt that ancient impulse to commune with that part of ourselves that needs stillness and is in search of that connection with something beyond ourselves. I wanted the cross I made to reflect the brutality of St Agnes’ experience, the singularity of her faith, her vulnerability and bravery. I felt that the cross she may have carried would not have been bejewelled or varnished, it would have been trampled upon, broken and buried. I wanted the cross I made to reflect my thoughts about what a symbol of faith could look like when not aligned to state power. I wanted to explore how others, during this time of persecution, may have held onto their beliefs and symbols but in subterranean whispered tones. I therefore dug a cross out of the earth and used the earth as a mould for the plaster. 

Matt Phelps