Emily Young: Lunar Disc I
Title: Lunar Disc I
Artist: Emily Young (b. 1951, British)
Location: Salisbury Cathedral (C of E)
Date: 2004
The large onyx disc was installed as a gift on the northwest lawn in the Close of Salisbury Cathedral but has since been transported elsewhere. It is made of one billion-year-old, semi-translucent onyx and is around two metres tall. Emily Young writes, ‘the disc is synonymous in my mind with both the oneness of the universe, of our planet and all who inhabit it, and the unutterable wonder of nature and creation. When the sun shines through it, in the early morning or in the evening, a halo of golden light appears around the edge. It is not an image of man, but an image of the provenance of man.’
Emily Young (b. 1951, British) works in a traditional free carving method of stone sculpting. She is best known for her distinctive angel heads and discs. Of the angels she has said, ‘The looks on the faces of the angels are not planned as such, they arrive and surprise me often with their softness and sadness, and strength and calm. But like all good angels, they have a certain graveness, an objectivity, a touch of the infinite, and a certain compassion.’ Of her discs she has said, ‘The discs, lunar or solar, are also like angels, heavenly bodies, stars, whirling in dark space, carrying information about our origins and throwing out light to us.’
‘Emily Young’s work is characterized by the highly individual way in which it combines strength with gentleness. Her sculptures are massive, often chthonic, but their contours are rounded as if moulded by a lover’s hand rather than chiseled out by steel.’ (Louis de Bernieres, novelist).
Emily Young has exhibited widely and her public installations include the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, St Paul’s Churchyard (London), Salisbury Cathedral, and La Defence (Paris).
Further Information
Medium: Onyx stone
Size: 190cm
Permanent display
See Young’s Lunar Disc I on the Ecclesiart map here.
Other artworks in churches by Emily Young: Archangel Michael - The Protector (2004), quartz, 80cm, St Pancras London; Angels I-IV (2003), Purbeck stone, 100cm, St Paul's Churchyard London
Other modern and contemporary works in Salisbury Cathedral: Walking Madonna sculpture by Elisabeth Frink (1981); Jesus and Mary sculpture by Mary Spencer Watson (1995); glass prism by Laurence Whistler (1985)