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Man walks among us

A specially commissioned sculpture of Jesus – titled ‘Man Walks Among Us’ - was unveiled on November 1, 2000, at the Saint Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow.

It was commissioned by Glasgow City Council to mark the millennium and 2000 years of Christianity.

The larger than life size sculpture is by Kenny Hunter, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art and one of the country’s contemporary sculptors. He won the Jesus 2000 Commission from a short-list of leading artists who were invited to develop a new work of art portraying Jesus for the new millennium.

Hunter first modelled his portrayal of Jesus in clay and then cast it in coloured contemporary materials – GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic). His work to date has combined the scale of classical sculpture and Victorian statuary with an ironic critique of contemporary society. 'Man Walks Among Us' however, stands apart from this style in the openly respectful approach to the subkect matter.

The winning proposal for the Jesus 2000 Commission saw Hunter bring his individual style to one of the most powerful moments in Christian scripture.

‘Man Walks Among Us’ presents two aspects of Jesus, according to Hunter – an enormous compassion for the human condition and a burning anger against all systems, religious or political, that come between God and the poor of the world.

"This anger and compassion, this furious pity", says Hunter, "is what I aim to capture in the face of Christ.

"So often in the history of art, Christ is depicted frozen and passive. To counter this I portray Him active, walking, Christ walking alone. Walking, an activity which so often accompanies our reveries, our moments of conflict and clarity."

An independent panel of six religious and lay people considered submissions from several artists for the Jesus 2000 visual arts commission. They recommended that Kenny Hunter be commissioned by the City Council in March this year.

Chair of the Jesus 2000 committee, Professor John Riches, Professor of Divinity at Glasgow University, said, "The year 2000 is one of pilgrimage for the church and Hunter’s sculpture can be both a powerful challenge and a source of inspiration to people inside and outside the church. Its haunting face expresses both anger at injustice and compassion for its victims."

Background

Glasgow City Council initiated the Jesus 2000 Commission in March 1999. Initially twelve artists were nominated reduced to a short leet of six – Kenny Hunter, Victoria Crowe, Ken Currie, Nicola Hicks, Julie Roberts and Kate Robinson, in October 1999. They were commissioned by the Council to make an initial presentation of their proposals of a portrayal of Jesus for March 2000.

The selection was made by an independent panel of religious and lay people from Glasgow - John Riches, Professor of Divinity, Glasgow University; Father Jim Lawlor, Priest, Our Lady of Fatima Church, Glasgow; Bailie Catherine Lyon, Glasgow City Council; Councillor Margaret McCafferty, Glasgow City Council; Sean McGlashan, Curator, Gallery of Modern Art and Reverend Dr Douglas Murray, Glasgow University.

The panel was assisted by Sandy Moffat and Sam Ainsley, Glasgow School of Art; Mungo Campbell, Hunterian Art Gallery and John Creed, Artist.

Kenny Hunter (38) was born in Edinburgh in 1962 and trained at Glasgow School of Art from 1983-1987. His work is on show in galleries across the United Kingdom, in Switzerland, France, New York, Germany and Athens. His studio, where he sculpted ‘Man Walks Among Us’ is near Alexandra Parade in the east of Glasgow.