Of angels and crosses
Let us suppose for a moment that you could liberate Anthony Gormley’s spectacular ‘Angel of the North’ from its site outside Gateshead. Let us imagine that its 52m deep concrete bolts could be slid out from its concrete base where the old pithead baths once stood, and that it could take a little holiday. If all of that could be done, I would like to fly it away to Pakistan and stand it outside a cemetery in Karachi, where the angel would have the novel experience of feeling dwarfed – by a cross twice its size:
The cross, said to be bulletproof and constructed from concrete and steel, is the brainchild of businessman Parvez Henry Gill. When finished, the 140 foot high cross will be clad in marble all around and may well be the tallest cross in Asia. Gill says he was inspired by God in a dream and that ‘It will be a symbol of God, and everybody who sees this will be worry-free.’ Meanwhile the Dawn news agency says enigmatically that it ‘is to remind all of the magnanimity of the divine and allow one’s worries to slip away.’ It can be seen either as a touching gesture of religious freedom in a country which has suffered so much religious violence, or a provocative symbol.
In our imaginary holiday from Gateshead, I wonder what the angel would say to its sculpted companion? After all, the angel comes from a nominally Christian country but was designed by the artist Antony Gormley ‘because no-one has ever seen one and we need to keep imagining them’. The cross, meanwhile, stands in a predominantly Muslim country. I have a feeling that the angel, who is seen by 90,000 people every day and has withstood snow, rain, ice and winds of 90 mph might look up at the cross and utter those oh-so-British words:
Keep calm and carry on.
What do you think?
Image: dawn.com
