Interior View, South aisle
A detail of the South aisle view showing station 13 in situ.
Interior View of Saint Paul's
Looking along the North aisle of the church, stations 2, 3, 4, and 5 are visible.
Station XIV- Jesus Is Laid in the Tomb
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Inspired by a 16th Century Flemish painting by Petrus Christus, Jesus' dead body fills the foreground about to be wrapped for burial. In the center, Mary reaches out to gently touch his shoulder as if he were asleep (based on a photo of a mother grieving her dead child from Beslan in Russia). Behind is the open mouth of the tomb with the wheel of stone waiting to be rolled into place.
Station XIII - Jesus Is Placed in His Mother's Arms
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Inspired by Northern European sculptures of the Pičta. The Mary is the same Iraqi peasant woman from Station IV. Mary Magdalene kneels and holds Jesus' feet. Figures cluster around the foot of the cross. Barbed wire traces across the background.
Station XII - Death on the Cross
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Inspired by paintings of Gerard David (Flemish, 15th Century). Jesus’ head drops at the moment of death. Black sky fills the top half of the painting. At the foot of the cross are three grieving Mary's (based on a photo of women grieving a car bomb victim). Joseph of Arimathea and John support each other as they weep (based on a photo of an American father and son at the moment when they learn of the death of another son held in Iraq). A modern soldier looks up at the cross, representing the Centurion who recognized Jesus only at the moment of his death.
Station XI - Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
A contemporary reworking of a composition by Giovanni Baronzio (Italian, 14th Century) in which Jesus is made to climb the cross on a ladder. Soldiers stand at the bottom of two other ladders. At the top of these are two executioners, clad all in black, their faces covered. Dark clouds are beginning to move into the sky, a contemporary view of Jerusalem in the background.
Station X - Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Jesus is naked and stands with arms up, hands behind his head. He is threatened by dogs on leashes held by soldiers (based on an Abu Ghraib photo). A soldier with his back to Jesus looks down at the red robe in his hands. The cross is being fixed into the ground in the background.
Station IX - The Third Fall
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
The cross is now overwhelmingly heavy. The fallen Jesus and cross fill the frame.
Station VIII - Jesus Speaks to the Weeping Women
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Jesus turns to the weeping women that follow him on the road to Calvary with an expression of concern and sadness. Here they are depicted as refugee women of Darfur, Sudan hemmed in by a white thorn fence.
Station VII - The Second Fall
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
The cross is heavier and darker than the first time. The fall more jarring. There is a jostling crowd in the background, a pushing and shoving between angry men and soldiers.
Station VI - Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Jesus carries the cross towards the viewer, almost filling the frame. A young woman in Muslim dress stands half turned towards Jesus. She has unwrapped the veil from her head and reaches up with it to wipe Jesus’ face. In the background are smoking, skeletal ruins of buildings.
Station V - Simon of Cyrene Helps Carry the Cross
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Mary is a peasant woman with dark robes pulled around her head (based on a photo of a mother standing vigil outside Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq). In the background a file of refugees walk along the horizon, carrying children and belongings.
Station IV - Jesus Meets His Mother
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Mary is a peasant woman with dark robes pulled around her head (based on a photo of a mother standing vigil outside Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq). In the background a file of refugees walk along the horizon, carrying children and belongings.
Station III - Jesus Falls for the First Time
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
A soldier prods him with the butt of his rifle to get up. In the background figures watch from behind barriers guarded by armed soldiers.
Station II - Jesus Takes Up His Cross
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
In a city street, Jesus struggles to lift the cross onto his shoulders. Two soldiers holding rifles stand guard. In the background a crowd jostles behind barriers.
Station I - Jesus is Condemned to Death
Oil painting on wood, 19" x 21" by Gwyneth Leech.
Pilate is seen washing his hands, his wife stands behind. Jesus is a prisoner held between two soldiers in a manner inconsistent with the physical threat he represents (based on photos from Guantanamo detention camp). The main action is set in a clear space surrounded by bales of barbed wire. An angry gesticulating crowd presses around the fence.
