In this sculpture, the bust of Ksiadz Rydzyk, a polarizing priest and media figure in Polish politics, know for his extreme xenophobic attitudes, is consumed by local birds. This piece was part of a larger series of cast classical busts in sand and birdseed produced to intentionally disintegrate or fall apart. The work was displayed on a classical stone pedestal next to the main entrance to the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw, Poland, with a companion video piece documenting the other works shown indoors.
The piece was initially sculpted in clay on a wooden armature. The bust was cast in silicone with a resin mother mold, which was used to form bread dough that was then baked to recreate Rydzyk’s likeness. Decades later, I explored the theme of state changes and intentional transformation over time in sculpture in the essay, A Matter of Time: Transformative Sculptures by Marc Quinn, Zuzanna Janin, Anya Gallaccio, and Andy Goldsworthy, in the book, British Art and the Environment, edited by Charlotte Gould and Sophie Mesplède.
Consumption, 2006, dimensions variable, duration: 2 months, bread and birdseed, Samsung Art Master, Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art, Warsaw, Poland