The Cosmic Madonna, 2022
'The Cosmic Madonna' is a recent work in memory of Canon Reginald Fuller, a noted Biblical scholar who died in 2011 at the age of 102. I had become acquainted with him around 1989 when he mooted in the Catholic press the idea of a shrine to the 'Unborn Christ'. At that time, he was retired and assisting in Saint Mellitus parish at Tollington Park. Whilst there, he was attacked by a burglar and hit over the head with a brass crucifix. Thankfully he recovered in hospital. Up until then, he had decided that one of my paintings, 'Mary Mother of God', would be ideal for the shrine but had been unsuccessful in finding a church to commission it. The late Jerry Nolan, a London Irish poet took up the search for a church to host the shrine and did get some serious interest from one church. Sadly, they backed off due to concerns about objections from women's rights activists. Jerry Nolan went on to publish a poetry book (Cat of the Inner Cities) which included a poem ...