Art under attack show to feature damaged Christ statue

Over the centuries art works have been smashed, slashed, defaced, even bombed. The centrepiece of the show is a damaged sculpture of Christ that lay hidden for hundreds of years beneath a floor of a London chapel.

The Statue of the Dead Christ (c. 1500-1520) is missing its crown of thorns, arms and lower legs - thought to be the result of a brutal attack by religious reformers in the 16th century. The statue was discovered beneath the chapel floor of the Mercers' Hall in central London in 1954. Experts think it may have been buried to protect it from further damage.

Tate curator Tabitha Barber said she was "delighted" that the the Mercers' Company had loaned the sculpture to the exhibition. "It's a hard exhibition to make because very often we are dealing with fragments, and things which were hidden," she said.

The show explores why art has been attacked for religious, political or aesthetic motives.

Exhibits include fragments of a statue of William III and Nelson's Pillar destroyed in Dublin during anti-British attacks in 1928 and 1966 respectively. A portrait of Oliver Cromwell hung upside down by the staunch monarchist Prince Frederick Duleep Singh (1868-1926) will also feature.

The show will also consider how artists themselves have used destruction as a creative force. A piano destroyed by an axe by Ralph Montanez Ortiz in 1966 will go on display for the first time accompanied by an audio recording of the event.

Asked about the security arrangements for exhibition, Ms Curtis told the BBC that the said that security levels at Tate Britain changed "week by week depending on circumstances". Recent attacks on art works, she said, had been an "unhappy coincidence" while the exhibition was being put together. "We all regret what's been happening recently because it's made it too topical almost," she added.

bbc.co.uk