Dr Tom Greeves

THE THREE HARES

Since the 1980s Tom Greeves has been investigating a motif of three hares (or rabbits) following each other in an everlasting circle. Each beast has two ears yet the design is so clever that three ears suffice, as a central triangle. In 1990 he adopted a version of the symbol as his personal logo.The symbol occurs in 17 churches in Devon, as a roof boss, but has now been traced across the Old World to China where, so far, the earliest examples are known, in Buddhist caves dating from AD 600-900.

With two colleagues, photographer Chris Chapman and art historian Sue Andrew, the Three Hares Project was formed in 2000, and research is ongoing. The meaning of the symbol is still elusive, but it has been found in Buddhist, Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Hindu contexts in the medieval world, and contains wonderful messages of harmony for our own time.