Abstract
This conversation between performance artist Franko B and conceptual artist Andrei Molodkin explores the political, ethical, and symbolic significance of blood in their respective practices. Franko B, known for his visceral performances utilizing his own blood, positions his work as an assertion of agency and defiance—particularly in response to institutional power, trauma and love. Molodkin, by contrast, engages with blood as a collective material, incorporating it into sculptures that interrogate nationalism, capitalism, and the human cost of war.
Both artists trace their formative experiences—Franko’s childhood in institutional care and Molodkin’s military service—connecting these to their later use of blood as a medium of resistance and confrontation. Franko describes his early performances as a radical reclaiming of his body, challenging societal taboos around queerness, illness, and mortality. His bleeding performances, such as I Am Not Your Babe (1995), transformed the body into a living sculpture, asserting both personal and political agency. Molodkin, in contrast, describes his shift from oil-based works to blood-infused installations, highlighting the commodification of life in conflict economies. His works, such as Immigrant Blood and Catholic Blood, expose systemic violence by inviting marginalized communities to donate blood, turning bodily material into a site of protest.
Their exchange interrogates the ethics of using blood in art, the responsibilities of the artist, and the ways in which their practices disrupt dominant narratives of nationalism, religion, and sacrifice. While Franko B embodies an intensely personal engagement with blood, Molodkin externalizes it as a political material, forcing audiences to confront their complicity in structures of power. Together, they articulate blood as both a symbol of oppression and a medium of resistance, challenging viewers to reconsider its role in contemporary discourse.
Both artists trace their formative experiences—Franko’s childhood in institutional care and Molodkin’s military service—connecting these to their later use of blood as a medium of resistance and confrontation. Franko describes his early performances as a radical reclaiming of his body, challenging societal taboos around queerness, illness, and mortality. His bleeding performances, such as I Am Not Your Babe (1995), transformed the body into a living sculpture, asserting both personal and political agency. Molodkin, in contrast, describes his shift from oil-based works to blood-infused installations, highlighting the commodification of life in conflict economies. His works, such as Immigrant Blood and Catholic Blood, expose systemic violence by inviting marginalized communities to donate blood, turning bodily material into a site of protest.
Their exchange interrogates the ethics of using blood in art, the responsibilities of the artist, and the ways in which their practices disrupt dominant narratives of nationalism, religion, and sacrifice. While Franko B embodies an intensely personal engagement with blood, Molodkin externalizes it as a political material, forcing audiences to confront their complicity in structures of power. Together, they articulate blood as both a symbol of oppression and a medium of resistance, challenging viewers to reconsider its role in contemporary discourse.
| Original language | English |
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| Publisher | Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 28 Feb 2025 |