Whanganui's St Peter's Church to host Stations of the Cross art exhibition

Patsy Fletcher, Sonny Barlow, Joe McMenamin, Paul Fletcher and Ruby Duncan with some of the artwork soon to be displayed at St Peter's. Photo / Supplied.

St Peter's Anglican Church in Gonville will host a Stations of the Cross art exhibition, with work from a variety of New Zealand artists on show.

The Stations of the Cross is a 14-step devotion that commemorates Jesus' last day on earth, beginning with the condemnation before Pontius Pilate.

Reverend Paul Fletcher, the organiser of the exhibition which opens on Sunday, said the story of Easter, and of the lead up to Easter, was very dramatic and contained themes that "we all deal with in life", regardless of religious persuasion.

"That could be grief, loss, violence or hope," Fletcher said.

"We wanted to enter into that story through the creativity of art and get some really good artists involved.

"There are some locals and some from different parts of New Zealand, and some who are Christians and some who aren't.

"We don't have all 14 stations. I was pretty relaxed about that, it was more about the artists choosing a part of the story that really connected with them, getting the creative flow going and have a crack at something.

"I've really liked the ones I've seen so far, so let's see what comes out on the night."

Mike Marsh, Dan Mills, Sonny Barlow, Joe McMenamin and Ruby Duncan are among the artists exhibiting their work.

"There are some really different styles there, and I'm really loving the diversity of the artists, their stories and what they bring to something like this," Fletcher said.

"We've got this beautiful space that is mostly only used on a Sunday, and it's there to be used, you know?

"We're clearing out all the pews, there'll be some panels and candles up, and it'll look absolutely stunning.

"It will definitely be a bit of an experience with all the artwork in there too."

The Stations of the Cross exhibition will open at 7.30pm (to 9pm) on Sunday, March 28, and run until Saturday, April 3, at St Peter's Anglican Church, 71 Koromiko Rd.

The exhibition will be be open Monday - Saturday 11am - 1pm and 8pm - 9pm.