Overview
Every culture has rituals and symbols that link daily life to
the sacred realm of gods and goddesses, whether a single divinity
or many. Numerous forms of faith also have magical messengers, such
as saints or angels. Our understandings of their divine powers,
their roles and the means by which people relate to them, have come
down to us through oral histories, art and literature, with some
remaining unchanged over the centuries, and others responding to
current movements within a particular form of faith.
Little Miracles demonstrates the function of
small-scale religious images, created to be displayed in domestic
environments rather than on chapel or church walls. They
graphically demonstrate the power of faith and contemplation to
conjure up the divine, while traditionally serving as conduits for
the faithful, allowing them to communicate with the saints and
members of the Holy Family. Whether asking advice or begging for
assistance in their daily struggles, such interactions served to
give meaning to the tragedies and joys of life.
23 June 2012 - late 2013
Level 1 exhibition spaces - free entry
Please note this exhibition will close temporarily from
Monday 29 April - Friday 3 May as we prepare for the 5th
Auckland Triennial.
Image: Paris Bordone, Madonna and Child with Saint
Sebastian, 16th century, oil on panel, Auckland Art Gallery
Toi o Tāmaki, purchased 1960