Thousands of paper doves have soared into Southwark Cathedral, bringing with them an abundance of uplifting messages for Londoners to peruse. ‘Peace Doves’ is an extraordinary installation, created by internationally-acclaimed sculptor, Peter Walker. And it features a plethora of paper doves, each of which bears a message of peace, love, and hope.
The large-scale work-of-art brings together messages from people across all walks of life, and features words written by the likes of visitors, school children, and community groups. The breathtaking installation has completely transformed the historic venue, giving visitors a spot of serenity in the heart of the city.
The ‘Peace Doves’ have been flying around the country, and have already completed successful runs in a series of similar venues, including Liverpool, Lincoln, Chester and Durham Cathedrals. Southwark is next up to host the beautiful birds, and they’ll be completely free to visit until September 13.
Bathed in gentle lighting and occasionally accompanied by an original musical score by David Harper; the mesmerising, mass-participant display offers a quiet moment of peace, tranquility and contemplation in the midst of a city, where those things can be rather difficult to come by.
Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark, said on the installation: “The world is crying out for peace. Peter Walker’s beautiful installation gives voice to the thousands who have written their hopes on the soaring doves. Spending time with the installation has a distilling effect as it asks us to look up, to look beyond ourselves and he self-destruction we can all be engaged in, and to instead seek harmony, beauty, and a shared future shaped by peaceful relationships and justice.”
‘Peace Doves’ will be on display at Southwark Cathedral until September 13. The installation is completely free to visit and accessible during the cathedral’s normal opening hours (9am-6pm on Mondays-Saturdays and 8.30am-5pm on Sundays).
If, however, you fancy seeing the historic venue illuminated by candlelight, we’d highly recommend you heading to one of these Candlelight Concerts, where you can listen to the music of some truly iconic artists inside Southwark Cathedral, under the gentle glow of candlelight. Sounds pretty darn dreamy, right?