Finn Cross to be dedicated and installed in Truro Cathedral
Wednesday 12 September 2018: On Sunday 16 September, the Finn Cross, a modern bronze sculpture made by artist Michael Finn, will be dedicated and permanently installed in Truro Cathedral in a special Choral Evensong service.
The Finn Cross stands about eighteen inches high but contains a beauty, a power and mystery that defies any sense of scale. Michael Finn was a painter, sculptor, visionary teacher and principal of Falmouth College of Art who flew as an RAF pilot in the Battle for Europe 1944 -45. He was also a practising Christian and these attributes combined to create, especially in the latter years of his life, artistic expression that was borne of front-line experience as well as a desire to see his art as a questing, searching exploration of the truth of God in the world.
Towards the end of his life, Michael produced several bronze crosses, and in 2009, seven years after his death, an exhibition of his work entitled ‘Michael Finn – Waiting on God’ was held in the cathedral. This exhibition inspired Canon Philip Lambert to organise the commissioning of one of Finn’s bronze crosses for one of the side chapels in the cathedral. Fund-raising continued, and plans were laid for the cross to be placed eventually in St Monica’s Chapel in the retro-choir, with the hope that this would become a space for peaceful reflection in the cathedral. The service on Sunday is the culmination of this.
The Dean of Truro, the Very Reverend Roger Bush, said: “We are hugely honoured to be dedicating this cross made by Michael Finn, whose art emphasises the durability as well as the beauty of the cross. The cross seems to defy gravity, with various brass blocks seemingly being held together by themselves. It is at once disorienting and profound, showing how a familiar shape can become even more significant and striking through a distortion of our normal perception of it. We are incredibly grateful to all the hard work of many people who have made this acquisition possible.”
The glass plinth upon which the cross will sit has been designed and constructed by students at Falmouth University – fitting to commemorate Michael Finn’s link with the college having once been its principal. The special Choral Evensong service is taking place on a particularly poignant weekend – it being also the Battle of Britain weekend, as well as falling the year of the 100th anniversary of the RAF. All are welcome to come along to the cathedral to join this special service during which the cross will be dedicated and installed in its permanent position in St Monica's Chapel. The service starts at 16:00 on Sunday 16 September.