Visiting London one is often drawn to the galleries and museums making the most noise in the press but sometimes one comes across a smaller, quieter installation which captures the imagination in a way the Tate has failed to do for decades. St Jude’s Church in 1, The Square, Hampstead Garden Suburb, has a long tradition being designed by Edwin Lutyens and planed for by Henrietta Barnett. The new vicar in charge wants to make it a community venue space within which art will find a home. David Waller whose twin collects toy cars by the hundreds, decided to create a labyrinth of the cars inside the church. The central idea is to reflect the spirituality of the space by giving people the contemplative experience of walking around and into the labyrinth set onto the parquet herringbone flooring, to the centre in which sits a Star of David. I asked the artist why this symbol and he pointed to the roof where, almost hidden by the intervening years amid the black pained circle, one could see the original Star of David reflected in the floor. The toys are set one behind the other in lines of four in the primary colours and the guide to walking give it the air of a pilgrimage if a short one. Waller’s work has centred around mandalas and rainbows before and he himself takes hours on padded knees to set the toys in their space, giving him his own sense of penance perhaps. This quiet, thoughtful man has created something that could go into any gallery in London but they will never see it because they never go looking any more. It is a great shame for they are missing something secure within itself, that makes use of the modern manufacturing process and children’s toys to make something thoughtful and utterly human.
David’s Labyrinth St Jude’s Church 16th -28th August 2024. Admission free. Artist: David T Waller and John R Waller