Portobello & Joppa Parish Church, Edinburgh
Address
Portobello & Joppa Parish Church, 1 Brunstane Road North, Edinburgh, EH15 2DLRecommended by
Highlight
North & south windowsArtist, maker and date
Douglas Hogg, 2001Reason for highlighting
The church, which was previously known as St Philip’s, was devastated by a fire on 2 December 1998, and the new north and south windows by Douglas Hogg were commissioned as part of the rebuilding. They successfully speak both to each other, the reborn interior and to the wider world in their inspiration.
The north window, which looks out to the Firth of Forth, takes as it theme ‘Journey/Navigator’ and parallels the travails encountered on the Journey of Life with that of the relationship between mariner and polestar.
As a compliment to the above, the landward looking south window takes as its theme ‘Harvest/Celebration’. The passing of the seasons, the short richness of the earthly experience, and in particular the importance of Harvest, are all contained in a joyous symphony of colour and light.
Artist/maker notes
Douglas Hogg studied Stained Glass with Drawing and Painting at the Edinburgh College of Art 1966-1972, becoming head of the Stained and Architectural Glass degree course there from 1979-2000.
Solo exhibitions include Past and Present Futures at Glasmalerei Peters Gallery, Paderborn, Germany and Non-Commissioned Offerings at the Cochrane Gallery, London. Invited group shows include Glass, Light and Space at the British Crafts Council Gallery, London, and Lumière du Monde, currently showing at the Galerie du Vitrail, Chartres, France, a touring European collection.
Commissioned works include a Staircase Wall Installation at the Edinburgh City Chambers and The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Window at the Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy in Central London 2012. He was installed as a Freeman of the City of London in 2007 and in 2016 was given recognition by the Radcliffe Trust for his contribution to Glass in Architecture.
For more information on his work see Douglas Hogg – the colours of Light
Other comments
In 2003 the windows won the Saltire Society Art and Crafts in Architecture Award.