Artist creates image of Jesus two acres in size

An Irish artist and author has created an image of Jesus that is two acres in size and, in doing so, believes he has uncovered how our ancestors created large images on the landscape such as the White Horse in Uffington in England, which dates from the Bronze Age.

Using twine and pegs and “navigating by the stars, particularly the Pole star”, Richard Moore traced an outline of the face of the risen Jesus in the four-acre field on the outskirts of Drogheda.

The image was then created by using fertiliser to make the grass grow greener on the image and, as it grew, the face of Jesus emerged from the field.

“I was always curious about how did the White Horse in England get there without the use of a measuring tape. I used sightlines with the Pole star and I am very happy with it,” said Richard.

The field is owned by St Mary’s Parish in Drogheda and the work was done with their permission.

Richard worked with Derek Closkey, another artist from Drogheda, on ensuring they got the grid and scale correct.

Richard said Psalm 103: 12 provided the inspiration for the image: “The line in the psalm is ‘I will remove sin as far as the East is from the West’, and there is a ridge in the field that runs from east to west just below the eyes of the image.

“The line of that ridge extends all the way from Millmount in Drogheda to the Hill of Slane and to Croagh Patrick, an alignment which also marks the spring and autumn equinox sunrise and sunset. And of course spring equinox is the astronomical event from which Easter is calculated each year.”

Richard paints the megalithic sites in the Boyne Valley and is intrigued by their alignments. With Anthony Murphy, he co-authored the book Island of the Setting Sun — In Search of Ireland’s Ancient Astronomers.

Richard has advised that the image is not visible from the road and the field gate is locked. The aerial image was taken for him by his friend Wayne Floyd of Iris Sky Systems using a drone.