Frederick Dodson, MA

Household Ancestral Shrine
British elm and yew
68.58 x 59.69 x 4.5 cm

Artist Statement

My work at the King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts has allowed an exploration of the notion of ancestral land and cultural inheritance. There is the possibility for lively interplay and fertile ground when cultures of the East and West meet. The complex interweaving of stories in the late first millennium produced many inspiring and enduring artworks in the British Isles. Two in particular have come to my attention and opened a landscape to explore: A Saxon dream poem, ‘The Dream of the Rood’, and a page from the Celtic Christian Illuminated Manuscript, folio 291v from ‘The Book of Kells’. Enquiring into these imaginative works by way of a Japanese craft tradition has helped foster three new pieces. Working with kanna has brought forth structure, allowing for the warm and clear expression of British trees. On and alongside this I have used egg tempera and gold to adorn the pieces with colour and light. Calligraphy has allowed expression of the word.

Pieces in the exhibition include a chair made from Yew and Oak, accompanied by an ‘icon’ of a tree; a large Oak cabinet inspired by a page from the Book of Kells; and an ancestral shrine for the home. This is made from Elm and Yew and is known as a Batsudan in Japan. They appear in various cultures worldwide. Its function is alluded to in the Christian tradition by the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that it may go well with you, and that you may be long-lived on the earth”

The shrine incorporates the four elements of Light, Air, Water, and Earth – with a space at the bottom for placing a handful of earth and thereby incorporating the Land.