‘Catholic Blood’ art tofeature in city gallery

CONTROVERSIAL Russian artist Andrei Molodkin has created a new work especially for Londonderry UK City of Culture 2013 called ‘Catholic Blood,’ which will feature donated human blood being pumped into a replica of the ‘Rose Window’ at Westminster.
By Kevin Mullan
Published 10th May 2013, 15:53 BST
Andrei Molodkin's 'Catholic Blood' will feature human blood pumped into a replica of the 'Rose Window' at Westminster.Andrei Molodkin's 'Catholic Blood' will feature human blood pumped into a replica of the 'Rose Window' at Westminster.
Andrei Molodkin's 'Catholic Blood' will feature human blood pumped into a replica of the 'Rose Window' at Westminster.

He will be in Londonderry next Saturday (May 18) to deliver a talk at the opening of the exhibition at the Void gallery in Patrick Street.

According to a statement released by the gallery the new work has been created specifically for “the context of Derry and Northern Ireland, addressing the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 and the clause of the British constitution that forbids an MP from advising the sovereign on ecclesiastical matters if they are of Catholic faith.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In the past Molodkin has tried to boil down human bodies for his sculptures. But for his new work he has used blood donations.

The statement from the Void explains: “The kinetic installation comprises separate symbiotic elements. The central acrylic sculpture forms an exact, hollowed, replica of the Rose Window adorning the façade of the Houses of Parliament.

“Adjacent, a pharmaceutical fridge retains samples of freshly donated human blood. Regulated by an industrial compressor, a medical pump pushes the refrigerated blood through plastic tubes and into the Parliamentary window.

“Intermittently, an additional pump draws the blood from the window and back into the fridge.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Andrei Molodkin was born 1966 in Boui, North Russia. In 2009 he represented his country in the Russian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

His large-scale installation ‘Liquid Modernity’, 2009 entered the Tate Collection, UK in 2012. Recent exhibitions include: CRUDE - Katzen Art Center, American University Museum, Washington D.C. (2013); Liquid Black - Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2012); CRUDE - Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston Texas (2011/12); Absolute Return - Museum of Modern Art, Saint Etienne (2011/12).

The Sentinel asked the gallery where Molodkin got the blood and if he had only accepted Catholic blood.

The paper also asked if the blood was sterlised and if the exhibit required special health and safety clearance.

The Sentinel will publish the response once received.