Mark Wallinger’s Ecce Homo at St Paul’s Cathedral
In partnership with Amnesty International and the Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger, the Ecce Homo sculpture, which was the first to appear on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square in 1999, will stand at the top of the west steps of the Cathedral.
The collaboration seeks to highlight the plight of all those currently in prison, suffering torture or facing execution because of their political, religious or other conscientiously-held beliefs.
The sculpture, which will remain at the Cathedral for six weeks, presents Christ as a lone man standing before a hostile crowd, as he awaits judgement and just moments before he was sentenced to death.
Mark Wallinger said: “This vulnerable figure stands at the top of the steps outside the entrance to St Paul’s Cathedral as we approach Easter to highlight the plight of people around the world who are imprisoned and whose lives are threatened for speaking the truth, for what they believe. It is an enormous privilege to work with St Paul’s and Amnesty International to shine a light on human rights abuses.”
Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International, said: “The story of Christ – arrested, tortured and executed for peacefully expressing his opinions and for challenging the authorities of the time – still resonates around the world today. The sculpture is a strikingly vulnerable figure and is representative of the type of cases that we at Amnesty still work on today – the oppressed individual caused to suffer simply for their beliefs.
