Truro Cathedral: Tears of Gold, Hannah Rose Thomas

 This exhibition was at the cathedral from 13th October to 2nd November 2025

Tucked away at the back of the cathedral was a small but mightily moving exhibition called Tears of Gold.  The exhibition features self-portraits made by Christian women from north Nigeria who have survived violent persecution.  Some of them were kidnapped and forcibly married to members of Hamas.  Others were raped and tortured.  Some were accepted back in to their communities while others suffered further persecution and loss.  But they were all traumatised.

The portraits were produced as part of a programme to help them deal with their trauma.  Many of the portraits included golden tears to represent transforming suffering in to hope.  I loved the inclusion of vibrant African fabrics.

Each self-portrait was accompanied by a little detail of their story and a portrait of each woman by Hannah Rose Thomas, a British artist who worked with the women.

These things shouldn't happen to women of any religion, anywhere.

The paintings were beautiful.  The women were beautiful.  

I think these projects are incredible.  We should be aware of what's going on.  It's good to help where we can.  The world needs to be a better place.

Hannah Rose Thomas has produced a book called Tears of Gold which features pictures of women from other conflicts as well.  I was able to look at a review of part of the book online and it was very beautiful and moving.

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