Church Mission Society is an organisation currently supporting 900 people in mission in 26 countries across the world. I was commissioned to create a sculpture to be installed outside the new CMS House in South East Oxford.
The sculpture communicates the organisation’s mission to visitors and is a landmark for the local area.
The sculpture is 2.5m high, in bronze and glass. It is formed with three elements, three rings. The piece speaks of 'interchange', with connotations of movements and global interconnectedness; you can pass through the middle (crossing barriers); the glass mediates the light (of the world) and its texture and colour mean it's different when you look at it from different angles / places / cultural perspectives.
The inner ring, from the words of Matthew 28:19 reads 'As you go, make disciples of all peoples' This is the core, a kind of 'missional dna' that unites CMS and its partners. The writing in the outer ring reads 'light of the world' written in the over 60 languages from across the world, as an expression of the world wide local mission work of CMS.
The glass interacts with the surrounding natural / artificial ambient light, so the sculpture transforms itself with the passage of time; the ebb and flow of light and colour provides appeal for the casual passerby and reward for the perceptive and familiar visitor.
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