Evilution-Project

911 panel for 911 Museum

2012-01-25T05:15:00.000-08:00

I am now very pleased and honoured to say that, following discussions with Jan Ramirez, Chief Curator and Director of Collections of the National September 11 Memorial Museum at the World Trade Centre, the 911 panel will now be exhibited there as part of its permanent collection. I delivered it to their offices last week pending the opening of the museum next year.

In a recent statement Jan Ramirez welcomed the acquisition adding, " As we work to build an encyclopaedic museum collection that engages with the September 11 terrorist attacks in the broadest cultural context, the recent donation of Roy Ray's 911 sculpture seems custom ordered to this mission. As a piece of response art, it provokes haunting memories of the inconceivable destruction of 2/4 mile high skyscrapers......".

The end of a journey

2012-01-25T05:05:00.000-08:00

The long journey of the five panels “Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace” from their first showing in 2008 at the Falmouth Art Gallery, at Truro Cathedral, St Ives Parish Church and Coventry Cathedral has now come to an end at St Peter’s Church near ground Zero in New York. At their installation there last July, they were blessed by Father Madigan. I then dedicated the 911 panel to Rick Rescorla, Father Michael Judge and the First Responders that day who gave their lives attempting to rescue others (see my last blog). I then gifted the panel to the city of New York.

Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace at Ground Zero

2011-08-10T15:15:00.000-07:00

After a year in Coventry Cathedral, my five sculptural panels entitled ‘Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace’ which highlight our ability to turn the most awesome developments in science and technology into the means of destroying places and innocent people, are now installed in St Peter’s Church near Ground Zero, New York.

On July 30th I attended a reception there at which they were blessed by the church pastor, Father Madigan and dedicated by me to Father Mychal Judge a chaplain to the New York Fire Service, Rick Rescorla a Cornish born security officer in the South Tower who saved the lives of over 2700 people before losing his own and to the 9/11 First Responders including the 343 firefighters who were killed that day.

Rick Rescorla’s widow Susan addressed the 130 gathered in the church praising the First Responders and speaking of the profound effect of first seeing my panels in Coventry. I spoke of the origins of my project drawing parallels between the resilience of New Yorkers ten years ago and that of my parents generation during the Blitz of 1940.

Since making the 9/11 panel I have made many friends among those whose lives were changed forever that day and, as such, feel able to share their tragedy. I therefore decided, as a token of sympathy and friendship, to gift the 9/11 panel to the people of New York City. This was warmly welcomed by those present

Before and after the ceremony the pipes and drums of the FDNY Emerald Society played on the steps of St Peter’s at the foot of which a beautifully restored vintage fire engine was stationed. Known as ‘Engine 343 “ it is dedicated to the firefighters lost on 9/11.

The local press and television were present as was the London Times. Susan Rescorla and I gave several interviews and were photographed many times with the panels and people from all sections of the community.

Finally, preceded by ‘Fire Riders’ on their Harley Davidsons and with much cheering and waving, Susan and I were driven a short distance through New York streets aboard ‘Engine 343’ for refreshments at an Irish pub.

New York New York !!!

2011-07-25T13:57:00.000-07:00

I leave tomorrow for New York for what promises to be an eventful weekend. My five Evilution panels are now safely at St Peter's Church close to Ground Zero and await my arrival to unpack and hang them in readiness for Saturday's reception. That event will start with pipers from the FDNY playing on the steps of the church followed by the performance of songs that relate to 9/11. Father Madigan will then bless the panels . Susan Rescorla , widow of Cornish born Rick who led over 2700 people to safety before losing his life as the South Tower collapsed, will introduce the panels and invite me to speak about them and my project. I will then dedicate the 9/11 panel to Father Mychal Judge, a chaplain to the FDNY who was victim 0001 on that day, Rick Rescorla and the 9/11 First Responders. Then we are all going to a nearby Irish pub for me to meet everyone ( and possibly have a drink! ). The rest of my trip is in the 'lap of the Gods'. I'll be collecting as much info and as many photos of the event as I can and will be publishing everything via my Blogspot, website, Facebook, Twitter and next newsletter. Watch this space!!

2011-06-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

I recently held a reception in my studio for members of the St Ives Rotary Club. John Hancock, Chairman of their community Services presented me with a cheque for £250 to help with the cost of sending the five panels, 'Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace', ( behind the group in the photo above ) to Ground Zero New York to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

2011-06-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

The exhibition 'Looking Forward Looking Back ' opened for two weeks at the Crypt Gallery St Ives on Saturday 4th. June with the prime intention of showing the "Evilution' panels before their departure to Ground Zero, New York to commemorate the tenth anniversary of 9/11. The show also featured a number of other works including a series of small constructions using fragments of poems, old photos and ephemera relating to the Western Front trenches of the First World War. The Revd. Canon Philip Lambert of Truro Cathedral spoke of the remarkable spiritual journey the panels had made and John Hancock of the St Ives Rotary Club echoed those sentiments adding that he hoped the exhibition would help to raise the neccessary funds to get the panels to New York and back. It was also the 30th anniversary of my first solo exhibition which was held at the former Salthouse Gallery ( just a few yards away !! ). A selection of landscape related works from those thirty years were also on show. I spent each day in the gallery and in addition to many interesting conversations, witnessed many moving reactions to the panels. I am pleased to say that by the end of the exhibition there had been 1300 visitors and fundraising was on target.

Planned shows for panels

2011-04-16T03:19:00.000-07:00

The panels are now back in my studio having spent a year in Coventry Cathedral. Judging by the moving comments and messages I've received they have once again touched the hearts and minds of a great many people. I am now busy packing them again as on Monday the 18th 0f April they will be on show in the Gallery at St Paul's School, Lonsdale Road, Barnes, London SW13 for four days ( Mon - Thurs. 10 - 5 )). This will be to promote their exhibition in New York so I hope to be meeting representatives of the national media as the result of a recent press release. The object is to raise the profile of the project which may attract funding and/or sponsorship to meet the cost of crating, air freight, insurance and travel in both directions (estimated between £5000 & £6000 ). Anyone wishing to help out or advise can contact me by e-mail at roy.ray@virginmedia.com or roy.beryl@virgin.net I will be with the panels each day and will be pleased to discuss the Project with anyone who comes along

My trip to Ground Zero last month was successful and enabled me to meet Father Madigan of St Peter's Church where the panels will be installed. Beryl and I stayed with Susan, widow of Cornish born 9/11 hero Rick, who is organising a reception there on July 30th. I also met retired New York fireman Danny Prince who is helping to build a screen for the panels in the entrance to the Church

Looking to the future, I have a two-week solo exhibition at the Crypt Gallery St Ives opening on Saturday June 4th. This will be partly retrospective as, in addition to the Evilution panels and related works, there will be paintings and collages from my 30 year involvement with the primeval landscape of West Cornwall. More about that next time.

Christian CND weekend

2010-11-10T13:48:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 30th. October the Christian CND celebrated their 50th. Anniversary with a Pilgrimage to Peace in Coventry Cathedral. I gave a talk on my Evilution Project alongside the panels followed by a collage workshop entitled 'Peace by Piece'. I'm pleased to say all the participents, none of whom had any previous experience, took home a finished and mounted piece of work. (see photo)

I understand the panels will remain in the Cathedral for a while longer so they will be there this coming weekend which the seventieth anniversary of the destruction of St Michaels Cathedral and the City Centre during the Blitz.

Ground Zero 2011

2010-08-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

September 11 2011 will be the tenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre. This week I have received an invitation from Father Kevin Madigan to exhibit the panels 'Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace' in St Peters Church, Manhattan, New York City,( above) as part of the commemoration of that dreadful event. The panels, one of which is dedicated to the innocent victims of the attack, are currently in Coventry Cathedral. Once again it seems that the panels are on a journey of their own (although much needs to be done in terms of organising and fund raising). More information will be in future Blogs.

Hiroshima group at Coventry

2010-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

I recently made another trip to Coventry Cathedral to meet a group of Japanese visitors. The group with their English hosts, were from Hiroshima and included a number of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of that city. During their tour of the old Cathedral ruins and the new Cathedral they gathered round my installation where I gave them a short introduction to my Evilution Project. A number seemed quite moved by one of the panels, which is dedicated to the Hiroshima victims.

Dresden Choir at Coventry

2010-04-07T14:42:00.000-07:00

On Easter Monday I attended a concert by the choir of the Frauenkirche Dresden. Considered to be one of the best choirs in Europe, they performed a selection of early and contemporary works. At the end of the concert they processed to the Baptistry where around 300 people gathered to hear them perform a further and moving work alongside my installation 'Where Their Footsteps Left No Trace'.

Susan Rescorla in St Ives and Coventry March 2010

2010-03-21T14:56:00.000-07:00

Susan, widow of Cornish born Security Officer Rick Rescorla who saved 2700 lives on 9/11 before losing his own, stayed with me in St Ives. We visited the Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden she had visited with Rick. We later went to Coventry to view the Installation in the Cathedral spending some time with the 9/11 panel

Reception at Coventry Cathedral 27th February 2010

2010-03-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

It was good to meet up with friends with the panels now adjacent to the stained glass windows of the Baptistry. Canon David Porter. the Cathedral's Director of Reconciliation, introduced the Installation and spoke of its significance during this year which commemorates the destruction of Coventry's historic city centre seventy years ago.

Coventry Cathedral

2010-02-17T13:52:00.000-08:00

I spent Monday morning this week hanging the panels in Coventry Cathedral on a specially made 12ft supporting screen just inside the main entrance. Each panel is lit by a spotlight and I'm very pleased with the result. You can also see the ruins of the old Cathedral through the glass screen which is quite poignent given that my centre panel commemorates the Coventry blitz of seventy years ago. Maybe as a result of their presence I will get to meet some survivors of that terrible night in November 1940. The panels will remain on show until the 3rd of April ie. for the six weeks of Lent.

Many of you will have received a Newsletter and invitation to the informal reception there at 1pm. on Saturday 27th. I will be giving a short introduction to the panels and look forward to meeting up with a few friends from the Midlands.

If you need an invitation card ( otherwise there is a Cathedral entrance fee) e-mail me at roy.beryl@virgin.net and I will send you one.

Last Post at the Menin Gate

2010-02-10T05:32:00.000-08:00

I recently made a second visit to Ypres in Belgium to attend the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate. The bugles sound at 6pm every day of every year in memory of the many thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who gave their lives there in World War One. The sixty thousand names inscribed on the walls are the ones they never found A very moving experience. I also visited Tyne Cot Cemetery and some preserved trenches. The short film I made is now on the website and youtube.

Coventry

2010-02-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

The installation of the panels in Coventry Cathedral will be part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the blitzing of the city in November 1940 which destroyed St Michaels Cathedral and most of the medieval city centre.
In the 1950's Coventry was twinned with Dresden as an act of reconciliation. One of the panels to be exhibited is dedicated to Dresden

Panels at St ives Church

2009-09-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

It was good to be joined by so many local friends at the opening of the Installation in the Parish Church by Professor Alan Livingston during the St Ives September Festival.

The Evilution project

2009-08-30T02:15:00.000-07:00

WHERE THEIR FOOTSTEPS LEFT NO TRACE

Civilisation has greatly benefited from man’s infinite capacity for research and invention: a capacity that is frequently harnessed for the destruction of others, the full horror of which can manifest itself at any time. This ongoing project is,my personal response as an artist to this evil phenomenon, which I have called Evilution and to its innocent victims in relation to the times in which I have lived, the people I have met and the events I have witnessed. For this purpose, I am using constructions, collages, photographs and video together with writings which include those drawn from numerous childhood memories. These panels are the first phase of the Evilution Project and will focus on examples for which a single name is synonymous with the mass destruction of innocent lives by the corrupt use of science and technology. As we reach the seventieth anniversary of the Blitz, they are also memorials to the millions of men, women and children who became the innocent victims of conflict, many because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time or were from the wrong country or race. Many perished without trace, but each one

meant something to someone and should not be forgotten.

Roy Ray St Ives 2010

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing

Edmund Burke (1729 - 1797)

Vist the Website.