News / St Mary Redcliffe Church
By Martin Booth , Thursday Sep 22, 2022
Jesus joining the Bristol bus boycott of 1963 is among the winning designs of a new stained glass window for St Mary Redcliffe church.
It is one of four designs to replace four panels of the North Transept Window in the church that were previously dedicated to Edward Colston.
The artist behind the designs is Ealish Swift, a junior doctor who lives within a stone’s throw of the church.
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“Bristol’s history is irrevocably and deeply entwined with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, yet also the shining source of many tales of passionate activism, such as the Bristol Bus Boycott, which paved the way for the Race Relations Act of 1965,” said Ealish in her artist’s statement.
“Much like the rivers flowing through it, this city of push-and-pull is as compelling and irresistible as the tides which govern it.”
Jesus is depicted as multiple ethnicities to counter the Anglo-centric narrative of ‘white Jesus’
Ealish’s work was among five artists shortlisted in a competition organised by the church.
As well as Jesus in the bus boycott – one of whose leaders, Roy Hackett, was recently laid to rest – another panel by Ealish shows a Bristol ship on a slaving voyage, referencing the story of Jesus calming the storm.
The other panels portray the current refugee crisis and Jesus as a child refugee fleeing to Egypt, and a diverse group of neighbours “facing the future in a display of hope and togetherness”.
Underneath the four panels runs a call to ‘Love your neighbour’, with the design referencing the style of the removed panels, “acknowledging without erasing” according to artist Ealish Swift
“My design draws from the deep and complex history of Bristol, from atrocities of the past to modern day concerns, to remind us of the journeys of our neighbours and how we have come to be together at this moment, looking forwards towards a shared future.
“God’s love is woven throughout the four panels, with a simple and powerful message that can be appreciated by locals, visitors, and pilgrims alike.
“The four panels each depict a crucial aspect of our shared Bristolian history as neighbours, and reference a relevant aspect of the character of Christ.”
The first panel depicts a Bristol ship traversing the raging seas of the Middle Passage during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and references the story of Jesus calming the storm
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