'NEXT STOP ETERNITY' NEWEST ADDITION TO 'OF THE EARTH' PORTFOLIO
When I came across this lone rural church scene in Northeast Iceland, I was struck by the visual power of the church’s commanding presence, its spare stark elements of green and white, and notably crisp, distinct lines in an amazing number of geometric shapes - triangle (steeple roof, front window panes), parallelograms (green roofs), rectangles (side windows, vertical steeple base, side entrance wall), pentagon (front entrance), square (side glass window panes), cross (graveyard markers) and cuboid (base of steeple).
The wonderful reduction of forms to elemental shapes, the stillness, the clarity, order and balance, the sparseness of the scene - all seemed to enhance the dignity of the church placing it at the edge of the visual world.
Accentuating its distinctiveness, the long, solid wall separates us physically, as well as visually, from entering the grounds - unless we go through - and leave - from what appears to be a single entrance.
In the background, a brooding sky, indistinct clouds, far-off mountains and river, utility poles leading us into the distance suggest to me another realm beyond, with the church a quiet way-station in the transition from earthly presence to a spiritual place beyond - above all, not a sad but a dignified, fitting place for a last stop before entering eternity.
“Next Stop Eternity” has just been added to my Of the Earth portfolio.
NEXT STOP ETERNITY