Tracey Emin piece amongst striking artworks in new Auckland Castle exhibition

Sin: The Art of Transgression goes on display at Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, from June 17 as part of an Auckland Project collaboration with the National Gallery, London.

It’s a chance for visitors to County Durham to see works usually only available to London audiences.

From contemporary pieces such as Tracey Emin’s 2010 piece, the striking neon pink It Was Just a Kiss, to more Biblical pieces such as the 16th century The Descent from the Cross on loan from Hexham Abbey, the exhibition spans centuries and looks at the theological ideas and depictions of ‘sinful’ everyday behaviours and encourages visitors to define their own meaning of ‘sin’.

On display in the Bishop Trevor Gallery, it covers everything from forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden to financial greed, adultery and drunkenness and the consequences of sin.

Ron Mueck’s piece, Youth, meanwhile, is a modern-day comment on violence with a youth displaying a stab wound similar to one of Christ’s wounds on the cross.

The 12th century castle itself has undergone a huge renaissance of late as part of the multi-million pound The Auckland Project, which is transforming the heart of Bishop Auckland, and Sin is the latest of many exhibitions displaying internationally-renowned works to be staged across its many galleries.

Charlotte Grobler, curator at Auckland Castle, said the exhibition is a great conversation starter.

“The exhibition draws really interesting questions around what is sin? Is it relevant? Is it religious? Is it secular?

"The Sin exhibition is a really unique chance to see paintings, exceptional paintings, from The National Gallery and contemporary works from private lenders that usually you would have to go down to London to see, but they’re right here in the North East to allow you to experience this exhibition.

"We’ve also put our own twist to it as well, so we’ve got works from our own collections to create a unique presentation on the theme of sin.”

The biblical concept of sin and redemption is, of course, not new to Auckland Castle’s rooms. The castle was once home to the powerful Prince Bishops before undergoing major restoration works in recent years to turn it into a visitor attraction.

As well as being a religious stronghold, the castle has also long held great artworks. In the 1750s, the then Bishop of Durham acquired Spanish masterpieces by Francisco de Zurbarán which tell the Old Testament story of the blessings of Jacob. One of the largest collections of Zurbaráns in the world, they are still on display in one of the castle’s grand state rooms.

Charlotte added: “I love the idea of having an exhibition about sin here in the Bishop’s palace. Obviously none of these questions about sin are new: the concept of sin comes from the Bible, and other sources, from Adam and Eve.

"I like to think of the Bishop here in his private apartment having similar conversations about what defines sin and how does that definition chance through time.”

Dr Joost Joustra, the National Gallery’s curator added: “Sin in many ways defines humankind and therefore defines the art that humans create. Sin has been the subject of countless works of art that have been made for centuries across the world. Just think of the many depictions of Adam and Eve eating forbidden fruit, perhaps the most famous biblical story of them all.

“The term is also used more generally for something that is desired precisely because it is not allowed. Many pictures show us ‘forbidden fruit’ without any trace of the fruit mentioned in the Bible.”

::Sin: The Art of Trangression is on display at Auckland Castle from June 17 to October 1, 2023.

Entry is free with The Auckland Project Annual Pass, which also gives visitors access to The Auckland Project’s other attractions in Bishop Auckland, including Auckland Castle Gardens; the Spanish Gallery; the Mining Art Gallery and the Faith Museum, opening in autumn 2023.

The annual pass costs £25 for adults with family tickets available and is valid for 12 months from the date of purchase. To plan your visit and purchase an annual pass visit aucklandproject.org.