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holocaust memorial sculpture by Anish Kapoor.
He carved a concave polished surface within
a three-ton block of black Kilkenny limestone:
unnervingly reflecting the viewer upside down.
Rabbi Goldberg commented: 'It took a long and
very, very painful time. Holocaust survivors at the
synagogue felt no memorial could be adequate, no
artistic representation could represent the horror
they had been through. But teachers here wanted
to teach the future generations.' Kapoor, reflecting
on memory and remembrance, said, 'Any memory
can only be a token ... Stones are dumb, yet they
can mark a place where remembrance can occur.'
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Perhaps this exemplifies W.H.Auden's well-known
words that 'art is our chief means of breaking bread
with the dead.'
The imaginative visual arts programme at Salisbury
Cathedral has run for more than a decade. It aims
to present contemporary art 'which engages,
encourages spiritual development and at times
Anish Kapoor
The Holocaust Memorial, 1996
Kilkenny limestone, Commissioned by The Liberal Jewish
Synagogue, London. Photograph by Stephen White
©Anish Kapoor. All rights reserved, 2020
Elisabeth Frink, 'Walking Madonna', Salisbury Cathedral, 1981. From Salisbury Cathedral images
