A copper sculpture titled In the Name of God
was inaugurated on 1st December 2006, International AIDS Day in
front of the cathedral of Copenhagen. The sculpture depicts a pregnant teenage
girl in natural size crucified on a high cross. It is intended as a sculptural
outcry, an artist’s comment to the crusade against contraception and sexual
launched by Christian fundamentalists with President Bush and the Roman
Catholic Pope in the lead. The exhibition was carried out in co-operation with
Dean Anders Gadegaard and the parish council. The event ignited immediately a
vivid debate in the press and on the Internet, see a collection of links at:
The sculpture set up in Copenhagen is the first
in a series of similar sculptures to be displayed worldwide. It is not intended
as a contribution to the abortion debate. The aim is to advocate for the right
to contraception and to truthful and unprejudiced sexual education, a view that
undoubtedly is shared by wide circles without regard to their stance on the
abortion issue.
The sculpture depicts a crucified
pregnant teenage girl in natural size. There will be various versions cast in
copper. Some of the sculptures are naked – others are wearing clothes covering
the intimate parts of the body, to avoid a futile dispute about nudity that in
some countries might derail the debate. The sculpture can be displayed in
different ways. It can be mounted on a cross or standing on tiptoe on a plinth.
The height of the cross can vary according to the site of exhibition, from 2.5
to 5 metres.
The sculpture and the poster will be
used in various contexts:
·
The
poster will be issued in big numbers (70,000) and distributed all over the
world to relevant NGO-s that will be prompted to display them so that
thousands of small art exhibitions will highlight the discussion. The print
files are uploaded on our website. The press is invited to publish the poster.
You can constantly follow the state of events
at:
http://www.aidoh.dk/InTheNameOfGod
You’ll find comprehensive documentation and
plenty of links about the HIV/AIDS situation in the world at:
The art installation was launched on
1st December 2006, the international AIDS day in front of the
Cathedral of Copenhagen. Afterwards it will be exhibited in Nairobi, London,
Texas, and Italy.
We expect to be able to co-operate
with the following:
The sculpture contains various
layers of possible symbolic interpretations. Here are just some suggestions:
The cross is a very strong symbol,
so I risk that the sculpture will provoke passionate reactions. Many people may
be outraged and see it as blasphemous.
The sculpture is by no means
intended as blasphemous. When a parallel is drawn from Jesus’ suffering on the
cross to the suffering women of our time, we envisage a modern interpretation
of the compassionate Jesus. His suffering and death on the cross was an
expression of endless compassion and solidarity with man. Jesus himself makes a
junction between man’s suffering and his own through the statement “I say to
you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25,40). The quotation spurs us to take the
compassionate Jesus seriously in a modern context. This is exactly what the
sculpture is doing in the form of living symbolism, expressing compassion with
those suffering.
Should it not be allowed, through
the symbolic language of art, to show the crucified Jesus taking the side of
the present day’s suffering and oppressed people, then the narrative of the
Gospel will at best be reduced to barren ceremony void of connection to the
world we live in – at worst it will be instrumentalized to legitimate a policy
causing suffering and death to millions of people. In fact, I think that this
abuse of God and the Bible deserves the designation ‘blasphemous’.
This art manifestation is aimed at a
religious interpretation causing increased suffering and hardships to the
world’s most vulnerable people, not at Christianity as such. The artist
appreciates co-operation with Christian groups that take the Christian claim
for charity seriously, and accordingly take the side of those suffering. Such
an attitude is a prolongation of a Christian tradition practiced throughout
history, displaying a commitment for help and relief. A hasty search in church
history will reveal a multitude of monasteries and hospitals, connected to the
Catholic Church or other Churches, displaying readiness to help the sick and
poor, when all others failed.
On more than one occasion Jens
Galschiot has carried out projects in co-operation with Christian groups both
in Denmark and abroad.
Recently the fundamentalists, with
President Bush and the Roman Catholic Pope in the lead, have usurped still more
influence on the discussion about AIDS and contraception. The disastrous
consequence has been the withdrawal of funds from the contraception programs
carried out by the UN an NGO-s all around the world. The fundamentalists assert
that handing out condoms and giving information on contraception is instigation
to promiscuity. Instead they claim that people should be taught not to have sex
before marriage, and when married only for the purpose of procreation.
This policy has entailed disasters
where it has been introduced. For ten years Uganda succeeded to reduce the
spread of HIV contamination through massive campaigns to use condoms and to
limit the number of sexual partners. At the same time condoms were handed out
for free. As a result the rate of contamination decreased from 15% of the
population in 1990 to 5% in 2001. But in 2002 Uganda changes its policy:
compelled by the US President the condoms were removed from the campaign, and
sexual abstinence was extolled as the only means to fight the HIV
contamination. The result has been the doubling of new contaminations each year
from 70,000 in 2003 to 130,000 in 2005.
As a result of the implementation of
the same policy, Texas is one of the states with the highest per capita number
of HIV contaminated in the USA and the highest number of teenage pregnancies.
Brief presentation of the artist
Jens Galschiot, Denmark, born 1954, sculptor. He stakes his art to
defend the ethical values of our society, regardless of political, religious or
economic interests. His sculptures suddenly appear in public areas and start
the performance. Best known are My Inner Beast (European cities in 1993)
and the Pillar of Shame (Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil).
The projects are
financed through the sale of Galschiot's bronze sculptures to art collectors
all over the world. He has a huge industrial area in Odense, Denmark with a
bronze foundry, gallery and workshop. Photos of all Jens Galschiot's sculptures:
http://sculptures.aidoh.dk
Tel.: (+45) 6618 4058 - Fax: (+45)
6618 4158
E-mail: aidoh@aidoh.dk - Internet: www.aidoh.dk
Printed 03 January 2007