{"id":189026,"date":"2025-10-09T21:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/189026\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T21:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T21:46:12","slug":"graffiti-makes-canterbury-cathedral-resemble-underground-car-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/189026\/","title":{"rendered":"Graffiti makes Canterbury Cathedral resemble \u2018underground car park\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visitors to Canterbury Cathedral were shocked this week to find its walls and pillars covered in graffiti, leaving the interior of the ancient building looking like what one described as \u201can underground car park in Peckham\u201d.<\/p>\n

Just days after the Right Rev Sarah Mullally was revealed as the next Archbishop of Canterbury<\/a> within the cathedral, its walls now appear to be daubed with spray-painted writing.<\/p>\n

The brightly coloured graffiti-style images are actually part of an art installation that has, by the cathedral\u2019s own admission, \u201cdivided public opinion\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Graffiti-style<\/p>\n

The graffiti stencils will be removed before the Right Rev Sarah Mullally\u2019s enthronement ceremony<\/p>\n

\"Graffiti<\/p>\n

Prominent on pillars, walls and staircases, the graffiti looks like it has been spray-painted in typical street fashion, mimicking different styles such as scribbled \u201ctags\u201d, rounded \u201cthrow-up\u201d lettering, and more complex \u201cwildstyle\u201d designs.<\/p>\n

They have in fact been \u201cexpertly and sensitively\u201d applied as stick-on graphics around the interior of the cathedral and carry questions that people have asked God during moments of doubt or curiosity.<\/p>\n

\u2022 First female Archbishop faces battle for England\u2019s soul<\/a><\/p>\n

These include questions such as \u201cAre you there?\u201d, \u201cWhere does love come from?\u201d, \u201cGod, what happens when we die?\u201d and \u201cWhy did you create hate when love is by far more powerful?\u201d<\/p>\n

Cathedral bosses took the unusual step of proactively sharing some of the criticism of its art installation, noting that one visitor had told them: \u201cI think it\u2019s sacrilegious.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

The installation formally opens on October 17<\/p>\n

They said: \u201c[It] has split public opinion ahead of its official launch, with visitors reporting visceral reactions to the bold graffiti-style graphics and thought-provoking questions displayed on the ancient walls. While many have reported their delight and intrigue, others have been discomforted by encountering the artworks.\u201d<\/p>\n

They pointed to the fact that the cathedral was no stranger to graffiti, noting that it is already home to a host of images, crosses, initials and words scratched into its pillars and walls as long ago as 1667.<\/p>\n

They noted that there is a \u201cgreat variety of historical graffiti within the cathedral, including masons\u2019 marks, religious graffiti in the form of crosses and Christograms, and marks made throughout the centuries by pilgrims and other visitors\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Archbishop must grapple with fractious Church of England<\/a><\/p>\n

Conceived by Alex Vellis, a poet, and Jacquiline Creswell, a curator, the Hear Us installation was inspired by community workshops in which people responded to the question: \u201cWhat would you ask God?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a rawness which is magnified by the graffiti style which is disruptive,\u201d said the Very Rev David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury, recognising the project\u2019s potential to divide opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is also an authenticity in what is said because it is unfiltered and not tidied up or sanitised. Above all, this graffiti makes me wonder why I am not always able to be as candid, not least in my prayers. This exhibition intentionally builds bridges between cultures, styles and genres and in particular allows us to receive the gifts of younger people who have much to say and from whom we need to hear much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The installation formally opens on October 17 and will remain in place until January 18, which means it will be removed before Mullally\u2019s enthronement ceremony to install her as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Visitors to Canterbury Cathedral were shocked this week to find its walls and pillars covered in graffiti, leaving…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":189027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-189026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=189026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/189026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/189027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=189026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=189026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=189026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}