The Forest Stations

A series of 15 wood sculptures incorporating 139 different timbers,
based on the traditional Stations of the Cross

The Forest Stations

William was involved in a major car accident in 1987, which left him walking on crutches or using a wheelchair. He also suffered a serious head injury. The experience of living with these disabilities has given him extraordinary insight into life under continuous pressure and this has contributed to the vibrancy of this work. Not born of any of the usual motives for making such monumental works – not commissioned, not fired by zeal or doctrine – he set out to find himself through working in wood. The fact that the stations are a practiced sequence meant that he could concentrate on developing and communicating ideas as each station led to the next. There followed seven years of work, leading to the fifteen sculptures comprising The Forest Stations. The first exhibition of the Forest Stations was held in Norwich Cathedral in 1998. Since then they have been exhibited extensively around England. The Forest Stations are currently being exhibited at Lincoln Cathedral.

1. Jesus, a man of truth, is condemned to death by the crowd, through their government

2. The truth is beaten and flogged and roped to the execution beam

3. He falls under pressure from without

4. He is helped by his mother

5. He is helped by Simon of Cyrene

6. He is helped by Veronica, who wipes his face

7. He falls for the second time under pressure from within

8. Jesus turning said “Daughter of Jerusalem, weep not for me but weep for yourselves and your children. A day is coming when they will say, blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never gave suck. Then they will begin to say to the mountains ‘fall on us’ and the hills ‘cover us’. If they do these things when the tree is green then what will happen when the tree is brown?”

9. Under great pressure from the crowd he falls for the third time

10. We strip him of his clothes

11. Jesus is held down by the crowd as the tools of government drive in the nails

12. He is executed on the cross

13. The body of Jesus is held by his mother

14. He is enclosed into his tomb

15. ILLUMINATION*

*Awareness, Enlightenment, Insight, Inspiration, Understanding

The Forest Stations book by William Fairbank: £14.95

Forest Stations postcards £5.00

Forest Stations concertina £6.00

To order please call 01953 718114

The Forest Stations have toured the UK and been exhibited at

Gloucester Cathedral

Lincoln Cathedral

St. Mary the Virgin, Hatfield

Broad Oak, Bishops Stortford

St. Mary’s, Cambridge

New Maldon Methodist Church

St. Mary’s, Henley-on-Thames

St. John’s, London

Peterborough cathedral

Wells Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral

East Harling Parish Church, Norfolk

Norwich Cathedral

St. James, Picadilly

Ripon Cathedral

Holy Trinity, Guildford

Wymondham College, Norfolk

The Forest Stations are currently installed at Lincoln Cathedral

"The concept for this artwork is already exceptional; even more so the actual work itself. It appeals to all aspects of me as a human being; to my intellectual and mental capacity to grasp the concept, to feelings of devotion and love, and it stimulates me in my deeds as a doctor in rural Africa with immense suffering."

Dr S J R de Monchby.

Matibi Mission Hospital, Zimbabwe

"Beautiful and brilliant were my first impressions. Upon further viewing I realised that this craftsman has created a series of works which were not only intensely intellectual but also quite extraordinarily beautiful. I was left feeling a desire to know the man and work better because I had touched on something quite unique."

Joan Healy

University of East Anglia, Norwich, England

William Fairbank

Multimedia Artist

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