Sheffield cathedral welcomes graphic sculpture

A sculpture of a naked, bleeding man by artists Jake and Dinos Chapman has been installed in Sheffield Cathedral as part of a major city-wide exhibition, BBC News reported.

Cyber Iconic Man by the Chapman brothers, two of Britain's more hard-hitting contemporary artists, is in the cathedral's Chapel of the Holy Spirit.

Works by Maurizio Cattelan and Turner Prize winners Douglas Gordon and Susan Philipsz are also in the cathedral.

It is one of five venues showing works loaned by leading European collectors.

The Church of England cathedral has joined museums and galleries in staging Going Public, a collaboration between the city's venues and private art collectors from the UK, Italy, Germany and France.

The works in the cathedral have been loaned by the Turin-based Sandretto Re Rebaudengo collection.

They include a large tapestry showing drowning African migrants, the Twin Towers and the G20 leaders, by former Turner Prize nominee Goshka Macuga, which is hanging in the nave.

The Chapman brothers' work dates from 1996 and shows a figure turned upside down, with blood-like liquid running from his scars.

The Very Reverend Peter Bradley, dean of Sheffield Cathedral, said: "A lot of classic religious art shows images of really rather frightening violence, [such as] the crucifixion. But we don't notice that because we don't actually see it as violence. We see it purely as an illustration of a story.

"Some of these artworks invite us to reflect on violence, and violence in a religious context, in a new way, and that's strong, certainly."

The cathedral is showing 10 artworks in total. Dean Bradley said he had asked for pieces that "have quite a punch", so they were not "overwhelmed by the building".

He said he had already had some "very interesting discussions" about the artworks with members of the congregation.