Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is opening a dedicated phone line for confessions. He is also launching new editions of his most controversial sculpture, a depiction of Pope John Paul II struck by a meteorite. It is to mark the 21st anniversary of John Paul’s death this month, that the launch is happening.
When asked if it was an attempt to scandalise, he said no and added, “I don’t see it as absolution. It’s not religious authority, it’s a shared gesture. Confession exists in different forms everywhere – even outside religion.”
Far from intending to insult the papacy with his 1999 work, he said he had been “interested in showing fragility”. Some people, including some Catholics, saw the sculpture as representing the pope’s burdens; others believed it referenced the abuse and other scandals in the Catholic church’s recent past, and when it appeared at a museum in Warsaw, it was denounced as an attack on the church.
Dial In and Confess
Cattelan has invited anyone interested in sharing their secrets to come forward via a WhatsApp voice note or phone call. He will then select those he sees as most in need of absolution and invite them to confess, with him acting as priest, during a livestreamed event on 23 April.The project extends his long-standing preoccupation with guilt, religion, and institutional authority. Cattelan has always used provocation as a creative tool, and this new work is no exception.
There’s another provocation in the number of copies of the sculpture being made: it’s 666, which in the bible is associated with evil. “I like working with symbols people think they understand, and then shifting them slightly,” said Cattelan.
The release of the edition is carefully timed: the sculpture’s title, The Ninth Hour, references the moment Christ died on the cross, which Christians across the world will mark this week on Good Friday. It is a time when Catholics traditionally go to confession: so what does Cattelan think callers will confess to on his hotline? He said he is expecting “a mix … some will play, some will be serious. The interesting part is when the two overlap: you don’t know if someone is performing or revealing something.”
The Pope Returns
The new editions revisit La Nona Ora (The Ninth Hour), Cattelan’s 1999 sculpture showing Pope John Paul II crushed beneath a meteorite. The work caused enormous controversy when it first appeared. Catholic groups and Polish politicians condemned it. Auction houses have since sold earlier versions for millions of dollars.
A Career Built on Irreverence
Cattelan is no stranger to stirring public debate. He duct-taped a banana to a wall and sold it for USD 120,000. Cattelan installed a functioning golden toilet in the Guggenheim Museum. He once hoisted a police car onto a flagpole. Each work forces a confrontation with power, value, and belief. To more abput him, check out our article 11 Things You Didn’t Know About Maurizio Cattelan
Quotes from Cattelan sourced from Guardian article.
Athmaja Biju is the Editor at Abir Pothi. She is a Translator and Writer working on Visual Culture.
