Threads of Hope and Suffering
Gethsemane Garments
Peter Privett originally planned these four improving garments within the broad concept of pain, suffering, renewal and hope.
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The Red GarmentThe Red Garment describing the pain of the world. The Red Garment comprises cotton, silk, synthetic fabrics - dyed, painted and printed - gold paint - metal and cotton threads - beads. It will be seen that the different fabrics pull against each other revealing splits, gashes and wounds. The pain of hunger, exile, exploitation has dire consequences for all of us. The fabric of society disintegrates under the weight and tension. But it is not only human society which is pulled apart - the earth itself feels the weight of our actions. Indeed the whole of the created order is affected. |
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The Sackcloth GarmentThe Sackcloth Garment comprises ripped linen, cotton, muslin - dyed painted - beads, bones, shells - cotton and wool threads. The Sackcloth Garment reveals the feelings and emotions of the suffering that is experienced. The garment reflects this by being made from ripped strips of material - life is shredded. The experience is not only emotional or of an inward spiritual suffering, the body itself is definitely affected. There are also feelings of fury, anger and a desire for retribution. |
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The Green GarmentThe Green Garment comprises recycled clothes, curtains, string - dyed muslin with hand painted leaf prints - silk. The Green Garment explores promises and hope for renewal. It is more fragile, delicate, sheer, than the others. The texts are sometimes hidden and you have to search for them. Each of the garments is linked by a golden chord...hope does not stand apart from the others. In no way does this garment deny the pain and anger. Hope comes because of the two other stages, not in spite of them. |
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The White GarmentThe White Garment comprises linen strips - metallic threads, nails - white muslin lining. The White Garment is a coat that is not all sewn up - a coat that has a scarf of nails, a reminder that there is no cheap resurrection. A coat that waits to contain the others. Peter comments on this garment 'when I had finished making this garment and placed it on the stand with its white muslin lining, I was stuck by the space created inside...a tomb...a womb...waiting to receive...or an emptying out. Reflecting on the above words and thoughts it is possible to see where these garments fit into the pattern of the other Grants in Kind. Good Grief/Bald Statements is a journey through hope and suffering, pain and some comfort and the sculptures wait for a response from those who go on the journey with them. Threads of Creation - Peace & Reconciliation, Creation and the Environment all explore different aspects of the world journey but again, through the axiom of 'Let the Needle do the Talking', look for a response from a participating audience. Spirited Arts are a set of pictures from younger people expressing their hopes and fears in a very vibrant way and again perhaps provoking older audiences to react and reflect on how the young see things. It was Peter Privett's original intention to include quotations on the garments that were taken from contemporary sources, such as newspapers, adverts and other commentaries, but as the works began to emerge biblical texts came to mind that seem to speak for the present time. In this context Peter leaves us, through his garments, with an enduring challenge. There is no requirement to stand back and admire and reflect but rather an invitation to handle each garment and discover the texts. It is the texts in the context of what each garment offers that present each audience with the opportunity to match the words with contemporary quotations taken from anywhere and in any language to provide an updating with contemporary issues . So that this may happen the following pages give the texts that appear on each garment so that each visitor may comment or add a cutting or a picture from today's media commentary on the world to try and help us with new understanding based on old wisdom. |
The Garments and Their Texts
The text which appears on each garment is shown below
The Pain of the World 
'...and took the knife to kill his son ...'
'...has gone into exile with suffering ...'
'...all her people groan as they search for bread ...'
'...the children beg for food but no one gives them anything ...'
'...the hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children ...'
'...with a yoke on our necks we are hard driven ...'
'...we get our bread at the peril of our lives ...'
'...because they sell the needy for a pair of sandals; they trample the head of
the poor into the dust
of the earth ...'
'...They part my garments amongst them ...'
'...Brother will betray brother and the father his child...and they will betray
one another ...'
'...The stars will fall from the heavens ...'
'...Come now let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits ...'
'...Let my people go ...'
'...The sun shall be darkened and the moon will not give its light ...'
'...For a nation has invaded my land, powerful and innumerable ...'
'...The fields are devastated and the ground mourns ...'
'...On your skirts is found the life blood of the innocent poor ...'
'...the whole land is laid waste ...'
'...The birds of the air have fled ...'
'...The fruitful lands were a desert ...'
'...Everyone is greedy for unjust gain ...'
'...For people trample on me; all day long foes oppress me ...'
'...Sharp words are on their lips ...'
'...who eat my people as they eat bread ...'
'...You wealthy are full of violence ...'
'...You will sow but not reap ...'
'...All lie in wait for blood ...'
'...The joy of our lives has ceased our dancing has been turned into mourning...'
'...Their skin has shrivelled on their bones, it has become as dry as wood ...'
'...My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions...'
'...A voice is heard, the weeping of children ...'
'...They set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour ...'
'...My children are desolate ...'
'...You strip the robe from the peaceful ...'
'...You buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of shoes ...'
'...The farmers are dismayed they cover their heads ...'
'...The grain is destroyed...the wine is dried up...the oil fails ...'
'...They grasp the bow and the javelin and have no mercy ...'
'...The powerful dictate what they desire ...'
'...The faithful have disappeared from the land ...'
'...They have treated the wound of my people carelessly ...'
'...Fire devours the pastures ...'
'...Sound the alarm all faces grow pale ...'
'...For the patch tears away from the garment ...'
'...With a yoke on our necks we are hard driven ...'
'...How the gold has grown dim ...'
'...Those who feasted on delicacies perish in the streets ...'
'...Should women eat their offspring ...'
'...The young and the old are lying on the ground ...'
'...The earth groans, the rivers weep ...'
'...Deep calls to deep ...'
'...We look for peace but find no good, for a time of healing but there is terror
instead ...'
'...Rachel weeping for her children because they are no more ...'
'...fell into the hand of the foe ...'
'...No one to help her ...'
These words come from Genesis, Lamentations and Amos.
The Feelings and Emotion of Suffering 
Texts - Sackcloth Garment
'...why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain...'
'...the cords of death encompassed me the torrents of perdition assailed me
the cords of sheol
entangled me...'
'...My God my God why have you forsaken me...'
'...I cry by day but you do not answer and by night but find no rest...'
'...I am a worm and not human scorned by others and despised by the people...'
'...I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint my heart is
like wax it is melted
within my breast...'
'...For dogs are all around me, my hands and feet have shrivelled...'
'...Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog...'
'...My tears have been my food day and night...'
'...Vindicate me O God defend my cause...'
'...attend to me and answer me I am troubled in my complaint...'
'...my heart is in anguish within me...'
'...Fear and trembling come upon me and horror overwhelms me...'
'...I lie down among lions that greedily devour human prey...'
'...Deliver me from those who work evil...'
'...How long will you assail a person...'
'...pride is their necklace violence covers them like a garment...'
'...He clothed himself with cursing as a coat...'
'...How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land...'
'...take your little ones and dash them against the rocks...'
'...O Lord look at my affliction for the enemy has triumphed...'
'...For these things I weep my eyes flow with tears for a comforter is far
from me...my children
are desolate for the enemy has prevailed...'
'...there is no one to comfort...'
'...see how distressed I am my stomach churns my heart is wrung within me...in
the home it is
like death...'
'...my bile is poured out on the ground because infants and babies faint in
the streets of the city...'
'...all you enemies open their mouths they hiss, they gnash their teeth...'
'...Let tears stream down like torrents day and night...'
'...the tongue of the infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst...'
'...those who were brought up in purple cling to ash heaps...'
'...our eyes failed ever watching vainly for help...'
'...our hearts are sick because of these things our eyes have grown dim...'
'...My anguish, my anguish I writhe in pain...O the walls of my heart.. my
heart is beating wildly I cannot
keep silent...'
'...for the hurt of my poor people I am hurt. I mourn and dismay has taken
hold of me...'
'...oppression upon oppression deceit upon deceit...'
'...take up weeping and wailing for the mountains and a lamentation for the
pastures of the
wilderness...'
'...bring down retribution for me on my persecutors...'
'...why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable...'
'...the earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and writhes...'
'...the earth lies polluted under its inhabitants...'
'...He was despised and rejected by others. A man of suffering and acquainted
with grief...'
'...like a lamb led to the slaughter cut off from the land of the living...'
'...they abhor the one who speaks truth...'
'...they shall call the farmers to mourning and those skilled in lamentation
to wailing...'
'...it is darkness not light...'
'...I will bring sackcloth on all loins and baldness on every head...'
'...the seed shrivel under the clods...'
'...how the animals groan even the flocks of sheep are dazed...'
'...even the wild animals cry to you because the water courses are dried up...'
'...the earth quakes the heavens tremble...'
'...rend your hearts and not your clothing...'
'...he tore his garments and lay on the ground...'
'...I am deeply grieved even unto death...he threw himself on the ground...'
'...The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak...'
These words come from Psalms, Lamentations, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Joel, Samuel
and Markpedinsertscottonmuslinall dyedpai
Fragile Hope and Renewal 
Texts - Green Garment
'...and the dove came back and there in her beak was a freshly picked olive leaf...'
'...and their leaves will not wither...'
'...O my help come quickly to my aid save me from the mouth of the lion...'
'...be strong and let your heart take courage...'
'...protect me from those who rise up against me...'
'...lead me to the rock that is higher...'
'...so your youth is renewed like an eagle...'
'...even the darkness is not dark to you...'
'... wash yourselves make yourselves clean remove the evil of your doings...'
'...learn to do good seek justice rescue the oppressed defend the
orphan plead for the widow...'
'...they shall beat their swords into plough shares and their spears into pruning
hooks nation shall
not lift up sword against nation neither shall they learn war any more...'
'...the haughtiness of people shall be humbled and the pride of everyone
shall be brought low...'
'...the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light...'
'...will lop the boughs of terrifying power...the lofty will be brought low...'
'...A shoot shall come out of Jesse and a branch shall grow out of his roots...'
'...with righteousness he will judge the poor and decide with equity for
the meek of the earth...'
'...the wolf shall live with the lamb and a little child shall lead them...'
'...your anger turned away and you comforted me...'
'...the wilderness and dry land shall be glad the desert shall rejoice and blossom
strengthen the
weak hands and make firm the feeble knees...'
'...the eyes of the blind shall be opened the ears of the deaf unstopped the
lame shall leap like a
deer and the tongue of the dumb shall sing...'
'...because you are precious in my sight and honoured and I love you...'
'...Lift up your eyes...'
'...your heart shall thrill and rejoice...'
'...the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the oppressed bind up the
broken hearted
proclaim liberty to captives release to prisoners...'
'...to give them a garland instead of ashes oil of gladness instead of mourning
the mantle of praise
instead of a faint spirit...'
'...you clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and
sinew...'
'...Have you entered the springs of the sea or walked into the recesses of the
deep...'
'...Do not fear O soil be glad and rejoice...'
'...I will pour out my spirit on all flesh old men shall dream dreams young
men shall see visions...'
'...Sorrow is better than laughter for by sadness of countenance
the heart is made glad...'
'...The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning but the heart of the fool
is in the house of mirth...'
'...It shall not fear when heat comes and it's leaves shall stay green...'
'...For I will restore health to you and your wound I will heal...'
'...all sit under their own vine and fig tree no one shall make them afraid...'
'...to do justice and to love kindness and walk humbly with your God...'
'...their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail their fruit will be food
and their leaves for healing...'
'...I have heard the affliction of my people and have heard their cry...'
'...I was naked and you gave me clothing...'
'...stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial...'
'...if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done...'
'...Blessed are you who are poor for yours is the Kingdom of God, blessed are
you who are hungry,
blessed are you who weep now...'
'...whatever is true honourable just pure pleasing commendable think
about these things...'
'...Clothe yourselves with compassion kindness humility meekness and patience...above
all clothe
yourselves with love...'
'...so faith hope love abide...the greatest is love...'
These words come from Genesis, Psalms, Isaiah, Job, Joel, Ecclesiastes, Jeremiah,
Micah, Ezekiel,
Exodus, Matthew, Luke, Philippians, Colossians and Corinthians.
Life no Longer Dominated by Loss, Pain and Suffering 
Texts - White Garment
'...He shall put on the holy linen coat...'
'...I swathed you in finelinen and covered you with silk...'
'...I lifted up my eyes and looked and beheld a man clothed in linen...'
'...was transfigured before them and his garment became glistening...'
'...and throwing off his mantle he sprang up...'
'...and touched the hem of his garment...'
'...bring out a robe the best one...'
'...in shining garments and dazzling apparel...'
'...so loved the world...'
'...rose from supper and laid his garments aside...'
'...Love one another...'
'...woven from above...'
'...bound it in linen cloths with spices...'
'...saw the linen cloths...'
'...put on the Lord Jesus Christ...'
'...the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints...'
'...See I am making all things new...'
These words come from Leviticus, Ezekiel, Daniel, Mark, Luke, John, Romans
and Revelation.
About the Artist - Peter Privett
In His Own Words
As a teacher in Birmingham and Walsall in the late 1960's, art and craft was a means of exploring many aspects of the curriculum. I learned techniques alongside the children.
1n 1975 I went to Theological College and one summer a friend taught me to spin. Theology and spinning seem to be very similar. Since then my self taught artistic skills have led to a series of exhibitions with many pieces now in private collections.
Over the years as a Priest, Diocesan Education Adviser and retreat leader, I've often offered art projects as an opportunity for people to explore their thoughts and feelings in a safe and protected environment.
This had often led, where those with few 'professional artistic skills', have
participated in community projects eg.
Kidderminster Hospice Training Day - The creation of a loom to set up in the
entrance so that throughout the year visitors, clients, staff could contribute
to a woven hanging.
Priory Tapestry - creation of a large hanging 18 x 12 feet created for the
east wall of Leominster Priory.
Aston Hangings - silk painting project for in Birmingham's inner city with
different community groups of all ages.
Silk Garden - silk painting with the Rugby community - adults and children
from schools
I currently live in Rugby and am engaged in developing and supporting children's spirituality, through writing, lecturing and leading training events. I also help with the pastoral care at the Parish Church of St Andrew.
Back to Top of PageLiterature
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A copy of the literature which we provide to support your exhibitions is available. We provide 5 copies of this explanation card free of charge. As a Grant Giving Charity we are not a trading operation, but we do make available packs of 5 explanation cards at £2.50 per pack, which we suggest you can sell to visitors at say £1.00 each. The advantage of this approach is that at this affordable price each and every visitor can have an explanation to take around the garments which shows all the texts that used. There is of course an enduring remembrance. |
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Running an Exhibition
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For ease of administration and safety in transit it is usual for exhibitors to collect and return exhibits to Westhill Lodge, Birmingham (Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays). For exhibitors who have a considerable distance to travel (over 200 miles) it is sometimes possible to arrange a transfer from an existing exhibition or to meet half way - usually at a motorway service station, or similar. To accommodate the stands and garments a large car is necessary - please see the dimensions of the exhibitions in the Exhibitions Manual The free loan of the Gethsemane Garments is administered under the Charity's normal letter of arrangement system which sets out key details such as dates, for example to clarify commitments by all concerned. |