A UNIQUE and unmissable exhibition opens in Hereford on Saturday as Ludmila Pawlowska brings ‘Icons in Transformation’, her first major UK exhibition, to Hereford Cathedral.

Dramatic and intriguing, the exhibition features 12 large sculptural pieces suspended between the Norman pillars in the nave and smaller works, which will be displayed throughout the cathedral.

Installing an exhibition on this scale in a ‘gallery’ like the cathedral calls for some compromise, with the large pieces, all featuring eyes that compel the gaze, hung slightly higher than they might be in another setting.

But Ludmila is enjoying the challenge of siting her work to incorporate the architecture of its surroundings, the first two pieces suspended above the font, which in turn becomes part of the installation.

“It’s very important that it feels natural for the cathedral,” she says.

Russian-born Ludmila, who moved from Moscow to Sweden 15 years ago, has been deeply influenced by the colour and symbolism of the art of her home country: “Icons have a spiritual power,” she says, “a divine light and I try to capture that light in my own way.

“You see the eyes and you are hypnotised. You can’t escape them – it’s like God sees you.”

Ludmila’s mother died suddenly in 1997 and she found that she could work through her sorrow with her painting, finding that it kept her connected.

Close examination of some of Ludmila’s work reveals text: “Letters to my mother, because I can no longer speak to her,” she explains.

The mounting of this striking exhibition in the cathedral has been made possible thanks to Ken Weaver, who has sponsored Icons in Transformation in memory of his late wife, Margaret who worked with the Birmingham City Police and the city probation service during her professional life. As a lover of art and music, Margaret was a great collector – of books (especially children’s books) and of antiques, with, appropriately, a particular love of Russian icons.

Many of those that she and Ken collecte are on display in the supporting ‘Icons as Inspiration’ exhibition.

“We are incredibly excited to be able to host this exhibition on its immediate arrival into the UK,” said the Dean of Hereford, the Very Reverend Michael Tavinor.

“I don’t think many cathedrals have hosted an exhibition like this before and it is made even more special as it helps celebrate the conclusion of three major art projects of our own.

“The work will be placed in many different areas of the cathedral, creating a unique and deeply personal visit for everyone who comes to see it.”

Among the first to see Icons in Transformation will be Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, who will be in Hereford to launch the Cathedral Close refurbishment project on Friday.

Although Ludmila’s work hangs in a royal palace in Oslo, she has not until now met royalty. “I’m very excited to be meeting them,” she says.

The exhibition also includes a display of 18th and 19th century Russian Icons in the Mappa Mundi and Chained Library Exhibition and a series of lectures on Friday, February 19 and Friday, March 19.

The exhibition opens on Saturday and runs until April 1. Admission is free.