(This interview was published in french last tuesday)

Two works by the American artist Andres Serrano, amongst them his notorious Piss Christ, were destroyed last Sunday in the city of Avignon (south of France) by a group of extremist Catholics. The day before, a demonstration of 500 people was held in front of the museum, with the support of the National Front (a far right party, which represents almost one third of the electorate in the city). The archbishop, known for his connections with the far right wing, has demanded the withdrawal of the work, that he calls a «blasphemy».

Piss Christ is a photograph of a crucifix taken in a glass of urine. It is part of a series called Immersions, for which the artist has used human fluids (milk, tears, semen…) at a time of growing angst of contamination by HIV. The work has been exhibited several times in France, including in Avignon, without any trouble.

Born in Brooklyn, where he still lives, Andres Serrano is from a devoutly catholic family, of Honduran and Afro-cuban origins. His first images (back in 1983) incorporated religious iconography as well as dead animals or raw meat. In 1989, Alfonse D'Amato tore up a reproduction of Piss Christ in the US Senate. In the 1990s, the artist produced a series of portraits of Ku Klux Klan members, and profoundly disturbing details of dead bodies.

How do you feel after what happened in Avignon?

I feel it’s sad, and very unexpected. M