Andrei Molodkin

Molodkin was born in Buy, Kostroma Oblast, a small town in North-Western Russia. He served in the Soviet Army for two years from 1985 to 1987 transporting missiles across Siberia. He later graduated from the Architecture and Interior design department at the Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry in 1992.[2]

Molodkin's practise comprises drawing, sculpture and installation.[3] His drawings are made in ball-point pen, an implement that references his experiences in the Soviet Military "where soldiers would receive two Bics a day to write letters", they are often "laboriously drawn replicas of mass-media images".[4] His sculptures and installations often employ materials techniques and practices common in engineering "Molodkin creates a complex mechanical system consisting of air compressors, cast-iron pumps, and plastic tubing" that pump liquids (most commonly blood and/or crude oil) around hollowed perspex replicas of sculptures and architecture, as well as politically loaded words and phrases.[5][6] According to Douglas Rogers, author of 'The Depths of Russia: Oil, Power and Culture After Socialism', "His [Molodkin] work draws attention to the technical systems that channel political and economic configurations and to the ways in which words, concepts and spaces can be colored, inflected, shaped and filled by their associations with oil."[7]

Installation shot of 'Le Rouge et le Noir' (2009) at the Russian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale. Photo courtesy of the artist

In 2009 Molodkin was invited to participate in the Russian Pavilion of the 53rd Venice Biennale, the exhibition was named 'Victory Over The Future'.[8] For the Pavilion Molodkin submitted his 2009 work 'Le Rouge et le Noir', a multimedia installation that featured a two hollow acrylic block replicas of the statue of Nike of Samothrace, a Hellenistic sculpture on permanent display at the Louvre depicting Nike, the Greek goddess of victory. The installation featured the blood of a Russian soldier and veteran of the Chechen War being mixed, using a system of pumps, with Chechen oil inside the cavities of the blocks. The piece was deemed too controversial leading to the pavilion's curator removing the description of the piece from display.[9]

Installation shot from the 2013 Catholic Blood exhibition at Void Gallery in Derry.

A 2013 exhibition by Molodkin in the Void Gallery in Derry entitled 'Catholic Blood' was created specifically for the context of Derry and Northern Ireland. 'Catholic Blood' tapped into contentious historical divides in Ireland, as its subject is based in the Catholic Relief Act of 1829 and a particular clause of the British constitution that reportedly forbids any MP from advising the sovereign on ecclesiastical matters if they are of the Catholic faith, though this was disputed by Dr Bob Morris, an expert in constitutional affairs at University College London. Molodkin correctly asserted, "Yes, but there have been no Catholic prime ministers, perhaps when we talk about it we will get one."[10][11][12] The work was controversial in its choice of materials which consisted of blood donated by local Catholics, a specification that was met with resistance.[13] The project required the participation of the public, thirty-six people came forward to donate their blood, including the son of a Catholic Priest.[13] The piece was constructed from hollowed acrylic blocks, mirroring the rose window of the Palace of Westminster.[11][13] A pharmaceutical fridge contained samples of donated human blood and an industrial compressor pumped this blood through the cavity of the rose window in the acrylic block. This was simultaneously filmed and projected onto the gallery walls.

Molodkin, reflecting on the exhibition and the vociferous reaction, stated: "Some people were angry that I hadn't used both Catholic and Protestant blood. They felt cheated that I had only chosen to use Catholic blood. It was never my intention to mix religions - the intensity is in the separation.[13]

He currently lives and works between the French capital, Paris, and Maubourguet in Southern France. His work is held in a number of significant public and private collections, including the Tate national collection.[14]

• Andrei Molodkin: Post-Utopian Simulacrum, eds. Wooson Gallery, Daegu, 2013.
• Andrei Molodkin: Crude, eds. Silvana Editoriale, The Station Museum, Houston, 2013.
• Andrei Molodkin: Absolute Return, eds. Silvana Editoriale, Musée d'Art Moderne de Saint-Etienne Métropole, France, 2011.
• Andrei Molodkin: Holy Oil, 2010.
• Andrei Molodkin: Liquid Modernity, 2009.
• Andrei Molodkin: Cold War II, eds. Victor Tupitsyn and Margarita Tupitsyn, Kashya Hildebrand Gallery, Zurich, 2007.

• Andrei-Molodkin on re-title.com
• Interview with Molodkin in The Times
• BBC feature on Molodkin