Inanimate Objects
The Inanimate Object series explores structures and objects from around the world that are imbued with myth and legend.
These works are currently available from Churchhouse Gallery, in Motueka, Nelson. Alternatively, you can order direct from the studio by contacting me on jo@jotrickergass.com
The Wailing Wall
The “Wailing Wall”, also known as the “Western Wall” and/or “Kotel” (meaning wall in Hebrew) is in the city of Jerusaleum, in Israel.
It is Judaism's holiest site and the only fragment that remains of the Second Temple - most of which was destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish War in 70 AD. Jews lament the destruction of the Temple and pray for its restoration, and it has long been a custom to push slips of paper with wishes or prayers on them into the wall’s cracks.
Jewish devotions there date from the early Byzantine period and their belief is that “the divine Presence never departs from the Western Wall.”
From the perspective of Jewish tradition, the Wailing Wall is a term that comes from the Arabs. When the Arabs saw the Jews praying to the Almighty and mourning the destruction of the Temple, they called it "El-Mabka", which means "The Place of Wailing" or "The Wailing Wall."
It was derived from them and was integrated into several other languages, including Russian and English.
The Great Zimbabwe Ruins (Africa).
The word ‘ Zimbabwe’ is a Shona/Bantu word that translates to 'House of Stone.’ The Great Zimbabwe Ruins are what remains of a thriving trading empire that existed between the 11th and 15th centuries. Part of them, the area called the Great Enclosure, is the largest single ancient structure in sub-Saharan Africa.
The monumental stone walls were supposedly constructed to express the wealth and power of those living within them, and the allure of this ancient city is that much is still unknown as no primary written documents remain.
In the late 19th century numerous soapstone figurines in the form of a bird were found in the ruins; this Zimbabwe Bird later became a national symbol, incorporated into the Zimbabwe flag. Great Zimbabwe Ruins became a national monument and was designated a World Heritage Site in 1986, but the origins of the stone structures are still shrouded in mystery.
Church of the Good Shepherd (New Zealand)
Situated on the shores of Lake Takapo in the South Island, the Church of the Good Shepherd is one of New Zealand’s most photographed buildings.
Built in 1935 to commemorate the original pioneers of the Mackenzie Country, it was instructed that the matagouri bushes surrounding the site were to remain and that the stones for the wall were to be procured from within a radius of five miles - unchipped and in their natural condition. A concrete cross, symbolic of Christianity, was placed on the northern gable. Inside the church, a representation of the Good Shepherd is carved on the altar and alpine flora and faun are carved on the Oamaru stone font. Oak was chosen as the wood for a number of fittings in the church to symbolise the links between the Mackenzie Basin sheepherders and their British forbears.
Adjoining land was also gifted so that the church remained in splendid isolation - protecting it from ever being usurped by future development.
These symbols of land and religion combined with the Church of the Good Shepherd's position in the midst of an almost sacred natural beauty, have enraptured visitors ever since it was built and provides a place of worship for local residents.
Blarney Castle (Ireland)
Set into the tower of Blarney Castle on the southern tip of Ireland’s County Cork is the famous Stone of Eloquence. Better known as Cloch na Blarnan or the Blarney Stone.
One of the 16th century legends involves the goddess Clíodhna and Cormac Laidir MacCarthy.
Cormac was troubled with a lawsuit and feared the ruling would be against him. He prayed to the goddess Clíodhna and she told him to kiss the first stone he finds on the way to court.
In the morning, MacCarthy kissed the first stone he found and immediately was given the ability to speak with eloquence. MacCarthy won his case and afterward brought the stone to be incorporated into the parapet of the Castle.
It’s believed anyone who kisses the stone will be endowed with the gift of the gab - or ‘blarney’ - and this is where the English language saying "What a load of blarney?" comes from!
