Years ago, I met an old lady.

 

She sat inside the doorway of a magnificent church turned museum, in a bleak industrial city in central Russia. Her job was to watch over the national treasures adorning the walls.

 

The richly painted icons glowed from the light filtering in from above. I felt that I was standing in a peaceful, sacred space. But the elderly woman’s face was etched with lines of grief and despair. I said to her through my translator, “It must be amazing working here!”

 

She turned to me and didn’t answer, her face indifferent, uncomprehending.

 

The memory of that encounter is the inspiration for this series, entitled The Elijah Icons.

 

Will we recognize life-affirming moments when offered, and allow ourselves to be transformed?

 

No longer Northern European in flavour, my icons are set in the New Zealand landscape. Angels and native birds take flight to deliver both message and miracle. The huia, long believed extinct, and my symbol for restoration, stands triumphantly in front of a dark and tomb-like cave. Fiery mantles and visitors descend, bearing hope for those who will dare to seize it.