On Angel Wings- Hexham Abbey art installation

 In Hexham, there is a wonderful, ancient Abbey that I realise I have never posted about in all the times I've been going to Hexham.

At the moment, there is a wonderful art installation there that has been created in response to the pandemic. 

Since they put the reason for it so much more eloquently than I can, here's the info from the Hexham abbey website about it:

On Angel Wings is an installation that came into being following discussion on how we could offer the community a space to commemorate those who had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As we slowly reopen following a turbulent 2020 and start to 2021, we realised people had been affected by this in more ways than we ever could have originally anticipated. What we wanted, was to provide people with the opportunity to be awed and provoke thought as well as allowing people an outlet; somewhere to palpably show their appreciation and respect.

Inspired by the installation in 2020 by our friends at Ripon Cathedral 'On a Wing and a Prayer', angels seemed like the perfect way to honour those who had served relentlessly throughout, those who had lost their lives, those whose lives had been disrupted and those who had fought to get through one of the toughest times they had known. An idea was devised to hang origami angels, each with dedications to loved ones, in the Abbey; therefore each angel representing someone or a group of people precious and cared about by someone else. 

We contacted the Verger at Ripon Cathedral to help with the logistics of how we could go about hanging multiple thousands of origami angels in a 1,300 year old building, which had not had ease of access to the rafters built into planning and design! After much deliberation and consultation of architects, conservation engineers, rigging teams and planning committees, we realised this was a real possibility and the plan was put into action!

The resulting project is 'On Angel Wings'; 4,500 origami angels, made by local schools, volunteers, Abbey staff and members of the public, suspended 45ft high in the Chancel of the Abbey. The angels stretch right to the High Altar from the start of the Old Choir Stalls and are lit from the sides. The angels are high enough that dedications can't be read from the ground; keeping those memories and thoughts private but still present; much like a prayer. 

I thought this was such a beautiful idea and I was keen to see it in person.

As we walked along, we saw some examples of the angels made and some of the messages.

You can see some of the ancient stones in the background.

Here was another take on the angels from children too.

When you came into the chancel by the choir stalls, the spectacle of the angels with the majesty and gravitas of Hexham Abbey was breathtaking.  The music was just right and I was amazed by the scale of this project.

The colours change slowly with the lighting.

Unfortunately, just as I was hoping to sit and contemplate the angels, a guided tour came in and sat in the chancel and somewhat ruined the atmosphere for me (and also made it difficult to go and sit as they were spread throughout the choir stalls).  However, it was still amazing to see all the angels and soak in the atmosphere.

If you are in the north and are able to go and see it, it is well worth a visit.  It also gave me ideas for an art project at school!