Nikolay Polissky burnt a structure resembling a Gothic cathedral on Maslenitsa, but he “didn’t mean to offend anyone”.
The burning of the “Gothic church”. Source: Dmitry Serebryakov/AFP/Getty Images
The burning of the 30-metre Gothic-style structure on February 17 caused controversy in Russia. The performance was part of Maslenitsa, a traditional festival before Great Lent that involves burning an effigy symbolising winter. The festivities took place in Nikola-Lenivets art park 200 kilometres of Moscow.
Nikolay Polissky, the founder of the art colony in the village of the same name, creates effigies for burning at the annual festival. The event is often associated with the US’s Burning Man. This year’s festival in Nikola-Lenivets was called Flaming Gothics, a literal Russian translation of the term ‘Flamboyant’. The title was a direct reference to the key performance at the festival, Art Newspaper reports.
After the burning, both right-wing and left-wing commentators began to criticise the event, which made it viral. Critics mentioned an attack on Christianity, including Russian Orthodoxy, and spoke about the nationalist propaganda overtones the Kremlin used in the festival.
Russian journalist Andrei Malgin wrote about the situation: “In a fascist state it is possible to organise bright artistic performances with great meanings. They have always been organised. Magnificent torchlight marches. Airships carrying portraits. Mass gymnastics. Triumph of the Will. […] Burning a Gothic – thus Catholic – church in the country that jailed people for dancing or catching Pokemons in an Orthodox church is not the same as doing it in another country where Orthodox Taliban hasn’t won.”
Polissky himself insists that his performance has artistic and aesthetic rather than political motives. He apologised to anyone who might have been offended by his artistic act.
“I’ve spent the past few days explaining my position that the carnival in Nikola-Lenivets did not and could not have addressed any faith. The architecture of my bonfire was not a model of a sacred building. My gesture was aimed at creating a spectacular architectural image, not a scandal, which I don’t need at all as an established artist. [...]
I understand that hate speech by a simple-minded comedian accompanied with a picture of a flaming Gothic structure widely circulated by the media may have offended the hearts of Catholic believers and apparently did it. The project’s PR service and I did out best to prevent the fire sculpture from being associated with something Christian and a Catholic church in particular, but it seems one TV star is enough to launch this prominence of hatred,” Nikolay Polissky said.
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