As Pete Doherty returns to London this week for the Brit Awards, a life size marble statue of Doherty being crucified will be unveiled at London's St.Marylebone Parish Church on Thursday 19th February at the Private View of Art Below's ‘Stations of the Cross’ Exhibition.
The Lifesize sculpture titled 'For Pete's Sake' will go on sale for £33,000 and was originally made in 2008 as a collaboration between Pete Doherty and his artist friend Nick Reynolds assisted by Schoony who specialises in life casts.
Nick Reynolds says ‘When I created this work I saw Pete being crucified by the media and that provided the basis of my inspiration to make this piece'
This will be the first time the sculpture has been seen in public and will appear in the middle of this historic 200 year old church alongside other works depicting the Passion of Christ by artists including Paul Benney, Nasser Azam, Angelica Cayzer, Wolfe Lenkiewicz and Charlie Mackesy.
‘Stations of the Cross’ will be open to the public until 17th March and is the second crucifixion themed exhibition to be curated by Ben Moore in support of the Missing Tom Fund set up to find Tom Moore (brother of Ben Moore) who has been missing since 2003.
Ben Moore says 'I welcome artwork that raises debate and ultimately creates more awareness towards finding my brother Tom'
In the run up to Easter selected works from the show will be showcased by Art Below across billboard space on the London Underground in stations that have a symbolic link to the theme including King's Cross, Charing Cross, Temple, St.Paul's, Angel and Marylebone.
The Revd Canon Stephen Evans of St.Marylebone Chruch says ‘Doherty’s battle with addiction and a self-destructive lifestyle have been well catalogued in the press throughout his career; today, having successfully completed rehab treatment in Thailand, Doherty seeks to live a new life free of the things which had nearly destroyed him. I hope that 'For Pete's Sake' might help visitors to the exhibition stop and reflect not only Christ’s Passion and Resurrection and what this means but also to stop and reflect on what in their own lives leads to death or to life.'
Notes to Editors:
For Interview requests and high resolution images please contact Sandy SY Lee: info@artbelow.org.uk / 07515 543 751
Photocall: Thursday 19th February, 11.30 - 2.30pm. Please contact info@artbelow.org.uk to notify us of your attendance.
Dates of Exhibition: 20th February - 17th March 2014
Private View: Thursday 19th February, 6-9pm. rsvp@artbelow.org.uk
Venue: St.Marylebone Parish Church, 17 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LT
The Missing Tom Fund
Proceeds from the ‘Stations of the Cross’ exhibition go to the ‘Missing Tom’ fund, which was started up specifically to raise money to support the search for Thomas Moore. Tom left his family home in 2003. He was aged 31 years old. His friends and family have not heard from him since then. Now 12 years on, with the support of the Missing People Charity his family continue to search for Tom. www.missingtom.com
Ben Moore, Founder of Art Below, has had over 8 years experience working with artists, museums, charities and arts organisations, initiating and managing partnerships to deliver new public arts projects. In 2006 he founded public arts organisation Art Below. He has produced and curated public exhibitions in London, Tokyo, Berlin, and Los Angeles working with high profile international and British artists including Turner Prize Winners and Royal Academicians. Recent Exhibitions curated by Moore include Art Wars at the Saatchi Gallery, Stations of the Cross 2014, 'Art of Angel' and 'Thatcheristic' 2013. www.artbelow.org.uk/artists/benmoore
'Stations of the Cross' 2014 was the first crucifixion themed exhibition curated by Ben Moore. the show opened in March 2014 and ran for 40 days featuring artists including Mat Collishaw, Paul Fryer, Wolfe Leinkewicz, Sebastian Horsley, Alison Jackson Antony Micallef and Polly Morgan. www.artbelow.org.uk/stationsofthecross
Schoony
The special effects designer turned artist known as Schoony has a deep knowledge of casting and moulding near perfect creations. His background is rooted in special effects and prosthetics for the film industry with his career spanning over twenty years and gave him the perfect springboard to launch a new career as a Fine Artist.
Since 2008 his art work has featured in several shows including ‘Mutate Britain’, The Vauxhall Art Car Boot fair and the Opera Gallery in Mayfair. Schoony attracted national press in March 2011 when he un veiled ‘Boy Soldier’ on the Peace Plinth outside the Houses of Parliament in protest to UK’s involvement to the war in Afghanistan. schoony.co.uk
Nick Reynolds
Reynolds is the son of Bruce Richard Reynolds the mastermind behind the £ 2.6 million Great Train Robbery in 1963. Immediately after the robbery Nick fled with his parents to Mexico returning to England in 1968. Reynolds was 7 years old when his father was arrested and subsequently sent to boarding school. He cites his father as the main inspiration behind his love of art and music.
Reynolds later joined the Royal Navy where he became a diver and electronic weapons engineer, serving on the HMS Hermes during the Falklands conflict.
Reynolds is the UK’s leading specialist in ‘Death Masks’. Being the son of Bruce Reynolds gave him access to some of Britain’s most notorious criminals including Mad Frankie Fraser Ronnie Biggs and Howard Marks AKA Mr Nice which resulted in Reynolds life casting the heads of the UK’s most infamous criminals for an exhibition entitled “Cons to Icons” in 1999. The exhibition was described as “a vivid testament to the breakdown of the barriers between fame and infamy and an index of changing social mores" and was designed to illustrate the paradox between criminals that are vilified by the media, yet also feted on the celebrity circuit.
Reynolds describes death masks as ‘a snapshot of the soul’ In an interview with Saatchi he said "They are the only true, three-dimensional representations available of the subject in death - unlike paintings or photographs - as they are created by taking a mould directly from the subject's actual features- making them analogous to fingerprints. What makes these masks so interesting to me, is that the types of people cast were seminal figures in their day- ranging from kings and heads of state, to poets, politicians, composers and even murderers'
His most recent death mask is that of celebrated actor Peter O'Toole. www.memorialcasts.co.uk
Art Below is a London based public art enterprise. With a wide range of international artists and its various campaigns in cities worldwide, the organization has an important position within the movement of contemporary art in public space. Art Below uses billboard space in underground stations to display artworks in London and overseas. The group has nurtured an international community of artistic talent and has displayed the works of over 3,000 artists in London, Tokyo, Berlin, New Orleans and Los Angeles. www.artbelow.org.uk
St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. The locale of Marylebone historically took its name from that of the Church, which is dedicated to St Mary.
The present site is the third used by the parish for its church and was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813-17. The original church was built on the bank of a small stream or “bourne”, called the Tybourne, a name which for many centuries was synonymous with capital punishment. The church and the surrounding area later became known as St Mary at the Bourne, which over time became shortened to its present form, Marylebone. www.stmarylebone.org
