I Walk Over the Mountains and the Waves
Luke's solo exhibition of drawings and paintings with The Breeder opened on the Greek island of Patmos in August 2024.
The exhibition took place at the Old School of Chora, the island's historical centre. In 1999, Chora, along with the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian and the Cave of the Apocalypse, were declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The show’s title paid homage to the Hymn of Apollo by the eminent Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, reflecting the deep connection between art, nature, and spirituality.
Then I arise, and climbing Heaven's blue dome,
I walk over the mountains and the waves,
Leaving my robe upon the ocean foam;
My footsteps pave the clouds with fire; the caves
Are filled with my bright presence, and the air
Leaves the green earth to my embraces bare.
Percy Bysshe Shelley, Hymn of Apollo, 1824 (excerpt)
The island context of Patmos breathed life into the drawings and paintings made for this show, where the magic of everyday scenes — from fields and mountains to the sea and its creatures — was brought to life with an eroticism and lyrical tone that is unmistakably Luke's. Patmos, known as one of the most spiritual islands and the site where Apostle John received the visions of the Apocalypse, provided a rich tapestry for his exploration of religious themes. The works produced featured saints and archangels alongside mythical figures and ordinary people — bathers, vacationers and fishermen — drawn from the island’s heritage. This interplay of the sacred and the quotidian created an aura that transcended individual artworks, offering a continuous narrative, both nostalgic and contemporary.
