A ground breaking art exhibition will be on show at Peterborough Cathedral from 16 May 2023

April 28, 2023

The exhibition, Disability and the Divine, shows work from new artist, Marc Bratcher, who seeks to reimagine central figures of the Christian tradition, exploring how physical disability relates to theology, history, art, parenthood and other issues in the 21st century.

Marc explains: “For many centuries there has been a tradition of representing key figures from Christianity in ways that reflect different cultural perspectives. Indeed, the entire history of western art is part of this, presenting a very Europeanised vision. Disability, however, has been largely absent from the historic and artistic record. I hope to offer some new perspectives.”

The exhibition has been a long time in the planning, having been postponed from 2020. Marc’s creative journey began with his studies as an undergraduate at the University of Oxford and more recently during his MA in Creative Practice at Leeds Arts University. Disability and the Divine is part of a project to start a new conversation about the past and the future, and to get such images of disability and the Virgin Mary into as many churches and cathedrals as possible.

As a severely disabled artist with cerebral palsy Marc combines available technologies in a continual experiment to push at the barriers of creativity. His practice involves a wide variety of disciplines including digital painting, photography and state of the art Artificial Intelligence.

Canon Tim Alban Jones, Vice Dean of Peterborough, said: “We are very excited that the first time Disability and the Divine goes on public display will be at Peterborough Cathedral. Whilst Marc’s pictures show us a different and surprising view of very familiar subjects, they are profoundly beautiful and moving. I hope they will start a conversation around the invisibility of people with disabilities both in religious and non-religious settings, and challenge us to change for the better.”

The exhibition continues until 7 July. It is open during the usual Cathedral opening times and entry is by donation. Full details can be found on the Cathedral website, www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk