A new art installation at Dorchester Abbey invites visitors to step into a prison cell for three minutes.
CELL, created by Dorchester artists Adrian Brooks, is a life size, three metre by two metre, reconstruction of the prison in which Alexei Navalny was sentenced in January 2021 to solitary confinement and hard labour for 28 years for opposing corruption in the government of Vladimir Putin.
The outside of CELL features portraits of other men and women who, as prisoners of conscience, have been incarcerated, and sometimes executed, in the cause of human freedom and dignity, and have been sustained by their faith, hope and love.
Visitors are invited to enter CELL and remain inside for three minutes – a five millionth of Navalny’s sentence. Your sentence can be set on the hourglass found inside CELL.
Team Rector at Dorchester Abbey, the Revd Jane Willis said: "To spend three minutes in that cell with the timer going is an invitation to all of us to contemplate how we spend the time that has been gifted to us.
"As with the Last Supper installation, we are really excited to be able to hostthese pieces of art which encourage people to engage more deeply with our faith. We thought Lent would be a good time to have this here, especially as we engage with the images of people who have really suffered for their faith."
As an act of solidarity, you are invited to spend time in contemplation and prayer using the resources provided.