Nigel BROWN

Creation Window, central panel 2000
Stained Glass
15m high by 6m wide
Designed by Nigel Brown. Made by Suzanne Johnson and Ben Hanly of Glassworks
Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, Parnell Cathedral
Gifted by the Edmiston Trust & Sir Robert Owen

Nigel Brown was familiar with stain glass before this commission, as he had already worked with Glassworks on smaller windows in the 1980s for St Mary's in Mt Albert. For this project, which took three years from design to installation, Brown undertook extensive research and made over a hundred working drawings.

In the great central window Christ is rising from earth into a heavenly flower. The seven petals of the creation flower contain scenes of the seven days of creation as written in the Book of Genesis. A prism in the centre of the flower refracts white light into the separate colours of the rainbow, which fall and embrace Christ resurrected against the flower stem. The sky contains explosions of pohutakawa blooms, referring to the birth of the universe. Clematis flowers appear as children of the stars. Below Christ, Mary Magdalene holds a handkerchief and behind her, three women weep. A wounded World War Two soldier, tended by a nurse, lies back suggesting the deposition of Christ.

The first window on the right depicts the Maori/Polynesian contribution to New Zealand. The dominant theme is the bounty of the sea. The window on the left, with its gothic elements, stands for the European contribution to the Church in New Zealand. It depicts a contemporary Auckland with a symbolic ship in the harbour. Intermediary window's respond to Professor Toy's brief for a design that reflects the aisles of the church.

Reference: "Creation Windows of the Auckland Cathedral of the Holy Trinity." Catalogue published by the Church.

NIGEL BROWN was born in 1949 in Invercargill. He has worked as a fulltime artist since 1978. He studied at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland, graduating in 1971. It was there he came under the influences of the painter, Colin McCahon, and writer, James K. Baxter.

Three Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council Grants, awarded in 1978, 1981, and 1986 have assisted his career by allowing him to travel overseas.

He held his first exhibition in 1972 and has held numerous solo shows since and participated in many group exhibitions. His work is held in public and private collections both in New Zealand and overseas.