Black Pope, Black Sheep is one of the most important pieces from the early stage of the artist’s career. The life-size figure of the man – the pope – is accompanied by a sheep. The pope is crying, water gushing symbolically from his eyes. The artist has thus made a reference to the prophecies of Nostradamus, as well as to urban legends, visions, and apocalyptic predictions about the election of a black pope to the Holy See, which is to mark the end of the world.
The work expresses the spirit of the latter half of the 1980’s: a time of anxiety, tensions, but also trust in the approaching breakthrough which was to shake the foundations of the world. The sculpture was presented at the last Venice Biennial, in the main section titled The Encyclopaedic Palace .
Year: 1987 Medium: mixed media
Format: 161×60×97 cm
Acquisition: purchase Ownership form: collection Source: Bałka Mirosław Index: MSN: 4300-37/2013 Acquisition date: Dec 30, 2013 Financing source: Purchased with the support of Ministry of Culture and National Heritage
See also