Naked Christ
by Michele Coxon
A sculpture made of crushed animal bones depicting the decaying body of Christ has aroused widespread criticism after being put on show in an abbey.
Some visitors said The Naked Christ was obscene, unsuitable for children and unfit to be displayed in a place of worship. Created by Michele Coxon, a Welsh artist, it has the appearance of Christ rotting after being crucified.
The sculpture is made of sheep bone, rusted metal and paper tissue. It is 7ft tall and is hung on a brick column. All the materials were gathered on the Welsh hills.
It is being shown at Shrewsbury Abbey, Shropshire, as part of the town’s two-week visual arts festival. A spokesman for the abbey said it had received complaints but added that the piece was “thought-provoking and powerful”.
Visitors to the 939-year-old Church of England abbey yesterday called for it to be removed.
Sarah Burns, 34, said it was “totally needless and very gory. It made me wince when I first set eyes on it and I’m glad I didn’t bring my children along.”
Robert Marshall, 19, said: “Not only is it visually repulsive but it is disgusting and deeply disturbing. It is disrespectful to depict a religious figure in this way.” Miss Coxon, who is also a children’s author, is in America promoting a book.
She said she wanted to portray the “image of a man who had suffered and whose earthly body is decaying”. It was based on Michelangelo’s wooden crucifix carving The Naked Christ.
Robert Ellis, spokesman for the Church of England diocese of Lichfield, which covers Shrewsbury, said the sculpture was trying to raise awareness of the “pain and suffering felt by Jesus”.
He said: “For some people, this sculpture will be very meaningful whilst others will be totally opposed to it.”