Andy Marshall's Genius Loci Digest: 21 June 2024

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PHOTO-HOARD

The raking light reveals the delightful nested complexity and golden patina of the streets of Tewkesbury

WORDS

"The dull mind rises to truth through that which is material"

Abbot Suger

OBSERVATIONS

The Whale.

I’ve been locked into the quire at Exeter Cathedral - well not quite - but I have it to myself for a few hours. I'm here to photograph the new floor that has rejuvenated this historic space. The quire is a visual kaleidoscope of pattern and decoration, and as I sit within the stalls to read my brief, I can’t help but feel incredibly fortunate. In the silence of this vast cathedral, I reflect on how this place has witnessed countless individuals like me pass through over the centuries, each as fleeting as the flicker of a candle. And now it’s my turn.

Whilst I’m writing down my shoot notes I become aware of a shape in the blur of my peripheral vision. I glimpse upwards and see a carving on top of a bench end. I’ve stumbled upon a sublime depiction of a whale by the Victorian firm Farmer and Brindley. It was part of a late C19th scheme by Sir George Gilbert Scott.

I’m mesmerised by it. The carving is a breathtakingly beautiful, organic embodiment of a whale. The genius lies in the creator’s ability to convey the fluidity and vitality of a living creature within the stillness of wood, capturing the essence of movement and life force in an otherwise lifeless form. The bench end is richly layered with meaning: a religious symbol, a nod towards our inherent love of nature, a reminder of the majesty and mystery of the ocean, an emblem of strength and endurance, and a tribute to the artisan’s skill and imagination.

But there’s something more: the whale carving is a testament to human joy in creativity. It’s a perspective that helps me connect with the people who crafted it. It has always been this way for me: I remember, as a teenager, during a visit to the Alhambra in Spain, being captivated by the fusion of geometry and horticulture, which, beneath its original intent, revealed the joy of people at play.

It’s so easy to see the past as an abstraction, but when I observe the whale, I can sense the thin veil between the past and the present. These places take me beyond their intended purpose and reveal the lifeblood of people who transcend the blurred lens of time, conjuring an emotional response connected to the sensuous.

And there it is, the perfect word to describe the carving: sensuous – rapturous, vibrant and engaging. Sometimes, it takes a little time or a shift in perspective, but seeking out the humanity in our places helps uncover the answers that reveal the playfulness of our human condition.

Through my job as a photographer, spending countless hours in front of cultural forms and places, I seem to have stumbled across a formula to unlock the narratives within. The whale carving is saturated with meaning, but its true potency lies in its connection with the personal. As the Brazilian anthropologist Eduardo Viveiros de Castro says: ‘all that is required for sticks and stones to leap into life is our own presence.’

As I sit and observe the whale, touch the curve of its back and the grooves along its belly, it spins out another thread that is a springboard to a previous time in my life. I find myself on a designated walk in the first Covid lockdown. I’m up on a bluff near the Cheesden Valley where, amidst a horrendous moment of anxiety and worry, I find comfort within the pattern of a single stone set within a dry stone wall.

Beneath the lancing call of a curlew, this ‘vexed being’ in whose ‘flesh I was entangled’* was reminded, through a stone that manifested as a whale, that other parts of our world were thriving and functioning as normal. That idea was enormously reassuring to me, and it helped me create a framework in which to deal with my anxiety.

Back in the Quire, I steady my tripod and frame up the whale. To think that, within the pixels of my sensor, I can swallow it up like it did to Jonah. But its true import transcends its physical size. For me, the revelation behind the whale carving at Exeter is that it is part of the ‘polyrhythmic pulse of this place’. Something crafted by human hands can, through our mere presence, release a multitude of narratives that offer shelter and sanctuary. In a world that seems to ‘simmer in a state of answerlessness’**, if we take the time to really look, we can see that the answers are all around us.

If ever you find yourself in the fine city of Exeter, go and visit the Cathedral, head into the Quire, seek out the whale and go and touch it. I hope it takes you to your place of sanctuary.

*'Becoming Animal: An Earthy Cosmology: David Abrams. ** The Half Known Life: Finding Paradise in a Divided World: Pico Iyer.

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HOTSPOTS

Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral is the only cathedral I've visited that seamlessly blends epic grandeur with intimate pockets of bejewelled spaces with decoration that touches upon notions of an earthly paradise. Much of the building is of the C13th and C14th. The towers are Norman.

The Quire and Pavement.

I photographed the new quire floor for Clews Architects and its presence has re-connected and added to the coherence of all the elements in the space.

Project Architect, Camilla Finlay in her report to the Friends said that she hoped that the pavement lived up to a goal set for Architects by John Ruskin:

“We require of our buildings two kinds of goodness:

First doing their practical duty well:

Then ... that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it!”

The new floor is an echo of Scott's pavements installed further east replacing a saturated concrete slab. It also incorporates underfloor heating which reduces the visual impact of external heaters.

Clews Architects and Exeter Cathedral have kindly given me permission to share some of the photographs taken of the quire and cathedral during my shoot.

Members can see a remarkable VR of the cathedral quire - hovering above the floor here (viewable on any device):

The Whale

✨ The whale carving at Exeter Cathedral has been added to my Treasure Hoard Gazetteer Map.

The gazetteer is my personal collection of material treasures. It's a growing map of wonders that I've spent over forty years documenting. The treasures that I list here are not of any monetary value, but far more valuable.

If you're planning on travelling in the UK this summer - why not check out the map to see some hidden gems that help provide a focus for you trip?

More information here:

The Misericords

The C13th misericords have a wonderful fluidity rarely seen in other choir stalls.

The Foliate Head

It is perhaps more foliate than it is head. Whilst I was up on the pulpitum taking a shot of the quire I was startled to find this remarkable example of a green man on the stops to the arcade.

Somebody off Bluesky called it the Marge Simpson of Green Men..

Adjacent is St. Catherine with her wheel and book.

The Nave

The mid-C14th nave is also decorated with bosses and more stop moulds of delight.

Chapels, Aisles and Chantries.

From now on, I'm going to let the photography walk you through the remaining parts of this remarkable building - pure scroll, no words:

VAN LIFE

Exeter Cathedral very kindly let me park up right next to the west front.

Woody felt very special..

ON MY COFFEE TABLE

BOOKMARKED

So sorry to hear of the loss of Nick Molyneaux - I met him only once in Coventry, but his enthusiasm infected me - and he always provided me with a nod and a kind comment on social media.

FILM AND SOUND

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