STORY - "A Memento of the Journey "

Next time you’re in the vicinity of Sacred Heart Cathedral, pop in to see a new and beautiful interpretation of the diocesan patron, “Our Lady of Perpetual Help”, which also features on our cover. Indigenous artist Richard Campbell painted his image at the request of Bishop Michael after the Journey of the Cross and Icon through the diocese in July.

Given that every representation of Mary and her son Jesus has something different to say, Bishop Michael felt that a lasting memento of the Journey would assist us all, especially young people, to see Mary and Jesus as having something to say to our lives here in Maitland-Newcastle in 2007 and beyond.

A finalist in the 2007 Blake Award for Religious Art, Richard is renowned in the diocese and beyond for his extraordinary depictions of gospel scenes, especially the Stations of the Cross. Willy wagtails, the messenger birds, look down on Richard’s “Mary”, one resting on a branch which represents the spear of the traditional image, the other on a branch which is a reminder of the murraby tree, where “we usually bury our people, as their spirits go out to the Dreaming. The rainbow serpent is the creator, he’s also my totem and he’s in most of my paintings. The journey of the serpent is the link between the living and the dead.”

The scale of Mary’s hands supporting Jesus in the painting represents the fact that for the Gumbaynggirr people, the women are “a strong race; they usually did all the storytelling and stood up to people!” Louise Campbell, Richard’s sister, reminds me of the difficulties her foremothers experienced when childbirth was near. “Traditionally women would have their children around their country, and when that was stopped by non-Aboriginal people and we were asked to go into hospitals, women would have to walk for miles to find a hospital that would take them, so life was really difficult for our women.”

There is an obvious resonance here with Mary’s difficulties at the time of Jesus’ birth, and beyond. Like the traditional image, Richard’s representation acknowledges through the messenger birds that much suffering awaited Jesus, and that Mary “pondered all these things in her heart.”

Richard Campbell has also produced a range of Christmas cards with designs featuring the colours and creatures of the Australian landscape, and these are available for purchase. For further information, please contact the Editor.

Tracey Edstein

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