Catholic Blood work by Artist Andrea Molodkin a contempoary artist from Russia.
This Image is from his exhibition at the Void Gallery in Londonderry. The Exhibition shows blood donated by catholics, the blood is pumped from a basement room of the void gallery to which it circulates the blood around his replica of the rose window at West Minister Abbey, the window is seen by Molodkin as a Prodestant symbol.
In a adjoining room he created a sculpture based on the rose window at the Houses of Parliment, It is seen by the artist as not controversal, by mixing a prodestant symbol with catholic blood.
The work reflects an enduring examination into the corruption imbued in social, political and religious constructs.
These are some of my pope joan prints ,I was thinking of her Identity being protected within a halo.
The circle is eternal, the other circle I was thinking about was the ancient symbol, the ouroborous depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail.
The ouroborous often symbolize self -reflexivity or cyclicality, in a sense it is something that is recreating itself, the eternal return.
Back to circles “Halos” for me. Still thinking about the circle containing a Identity. Here are some Images I made with the use of hula hoops.
A rumour that as a result of pope joan, special chairs were used in consecrations, the chairs had holes in their seats, so that an official check of the popes gender could be performed.
(Sedes Stercoraia- translated as “Dung chair”.
I am looking at rituals within the catholic church, and was thinking about Incense burning, the purification and sancification. The smoke symbolizes the prayers drifting up to heaven: The Psalmist prays “let my prayer come like Incense before you”.
Insence adds a sense of soleminity and mystery to the mass. The visual Imagery of the smoke and smell remind us of the transcedence of the mass which links heaven with earth.
In the photographs I have Improvised by using a Tin can and Incense, trying to create a ghostly spritual Image.
Pope Joan would have performed this rictual.
In 1140AD ‘The Law Book of Gratain’ forbade all women from distributing communion and touching sacred objects. It was deemed unclean, also the birth of a child comes as a double curse as it was believed that the menstural blood which comes with the birth was considered to such an extent of unclean that, as Solinus states “fruits dry and grass withers to touch.”
Another quote “For she carries the curse of Adam and also (punishment) you will give birth in pain” .
Pope Joan would have taken part in all these rituals, her ledgend says she gave birth in public to a boy in great pain! ouch
Psalm 6-8 music score by Cameron Dodds
