Featured in the Press newspaper’s Go arts magazine today (17/4/14) is Jeremy Thomas, a Christchurch demolition yard manager who has taken wood from the city’s earthquake-condemned church buildings and made crosses out of them.

He tells Press reporter Vicki Anderson that the idea of making crosses came naturally to him as he viewed the destruction and loss of life caused by the Canterbury earthquakes, especially the quake on the 22^nd February 2011. For him, the cross ‘always means salvation’.

Jeremy’s firm was involved in the demolition of several church buildings badly damaged in the quakes. The beautiful wood and other materials salvaged, including hand-made copper roof nails from St Luke’s in the City (pictured here 3 days after the February quake), plus the skilled craftsmanship of the people who built the churches, all inspired him to make something good ‘out of the destruction’.

An exhibition of 12 of his crosses, called Out of Destruction, can be viewed at the Lincoln Baptist Church foyer, 530 Birches Rd, to May 11. Open 10am-2pm weekdays.