LONDON (RNS) — In the heart of the city, on one of its most iconic streets, the side of a small, Baroque-style church has recently been draped in a shimmering curtain that casts a lavender-like hue at night.
The dramatic installation, titled “Decades,” by the Manchester artist Louise Giovanelli, is intended to draw attention to St Mary le Strand, a 300 year-old church that until a few years ago had been considered moribund.
Like an actor standing behind a curtain, ready to perform, the church is now in the process of revealing its latest act.
“The reason we wanted to do the artwork is actually just to draw people’s attention to the building and make people look again,” said the Rev. Peter Babington, the priest in charge of St Mary le Strand. “This is not a closed, redundant building, but there’s something exciting and interesting happening, and it’s a way of generating interest.”
For years, the Anglican church had sat on a tiny island in the middle of the Strand between two lanes of traffic. Cab drivers called it “St Mary in the way.” Designed by the renowned Scottish architect James Gibbs, the church had turned ashen from soot and diesel fumes and was dwarfed by the many cultural institutions …