Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Russian artist who nailed genitals to Red Square could face three years in jail amid FSB fire allegations

Controversial performance artist may face criminal charges for his latest work, Threat

Matilda Battersby

Wednesday 11 November 2015 16:37 GMT

Pyotr Pavlensky nails his genitals to the pavement as "a metaphor for apathy" (Reuters)

A Russian artist who achieved worldwide fame when he nailed his genitals to the pavement of Moscow’s Red Square two years ago has been jailed for 30 days pending a trial for allegedly setting fire to the FSB security service.

Pyrotr Pavlensky, 31, has been ordered by a Moscow court to be detained until 8 December after prosecutors warned he could flee the country, compromise witnesses or reoffend, according to reports in Russian newspapers.

The artist is alleged to have set fire to the doors of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) in the early hours of Monday for a piece of performance art titled Threat.

It is suggested that he poured petrol on the wooden front doors of the security service and set it alight before standing next to the artwork until policeman arrived.

If convicted on vandalism charges the artist faces up to three years in prison.

Artist Pyotr Pavlensky lies on the ground, wrapped in barbed wire, during a protest action in St. Petersburg last May (Reuters)

His lawyer Olga Chavdar had asked for the artist to be placed under house arrest with bail of 1m roubles (£10,000) but this was declined.

Pavlensky gained considerable media attention in November 2013 when he nailed his scrotum to the pavement outside the Lenin Mausoleum in protest at the “police state” in his country.

After sitting for an hour and a half with a nail through his testicles the artist was arrested and spent 15 days in custody.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

Show all 8

1/8Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'My Bed' - Tracey Emin

Emin, one of the Young British Artists, created arguably her most iconic and controversial piece of art with 'My Bed'. It was short-listed for the 1999 Tuner Prize but sparked public outrage and a media furore. Emin's own bed is displayed here, surrounded by evidence of her sexual, self-destructive exploits. Stained sheets, fag butts, empty beer bottles, condom and worn underwear can all be seen in this image of suicidal depression following a major break-up.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Christ You Know It Ain't Easy' - Sarah Lucas

This 3D piece by English artist and Tracey Emin contemporary Sarah Lucas is made from cigarette butts and depicts Christ being crucified on the cross of the English flag. It is thought to be a comment on the difficulty of quitting smoking. Lucas took up the habit aged 9. Much of her work is designed to be shocking and provocative - someone is always offended.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Fountain' - Marcel Duchamp

This scandalous porcelain urinal, signed R.Mutt, was rejected by the Society of Independent Artists in 1917 even though the rules stated that any submission would be accepted from artists who paid the fee. Pictured here is a replica of the 1917 piece. The original is believed lost. 'Fountain' is an example of Duchamp's revolutionary 'readymades' - ordinary manufactured objects designated by the artist as art.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'The Holy Virgin Mary' - Chris Ofili

The provocative Sensation exhibit at the Brooklyn Art Museum in 1999 caused great offence. Nigerian artist Ofili's depiction of an African Madonna surrounded by black bottoms and elephant poo was called 'anti-Catholic' and 'horrible' by New York's mayor at the time. So 'horrible' that Rudy Giuliani filed a lawsuit against the museum.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Immersion Piss Christ' - Andres Serrano

Two Catholic activists partially destroyed US artist Serrano's artwork while it was on display in the south of France. Created in 1987, it represents a small plastic crucifix submerged in a glass of the artist's own urine.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Western-Christian Civilization' - Leon Ferrari

Argentine conceptual artist Ferrari often dealt with power and religion in his work, using images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary with cages, frying pans and even meat blenders. Showing Christ crucified on a fighter plane, 'Western-Christian Civilization' was a protest work against the Vietnam War. Governments were constantly battling against Ferrari - he was exiled from Brazil and a 2004 exhibition of his work was temporarily forced to close when Pope Francis intervened.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Bacchante and Infant Faun' - Frederick William MacMonnies

This bronze statue caused an uproar in 1854 when an architect tried to erect it in the courtyard of the Boston Public Library. Modern viewers will see little to get het up about but the nude Roman wine deity's 'drunken indecency' offended the Women's Christian Temperance Union. It was taken down to the more liberal New York instead and is now exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. MacMonnies earned worldwide fame as a result.

Banned, censored and 'offensive' artworks

'Saint Bartholomew, Exquisite Pain' - Damien Hirst

No stranger to controversy, Hirst's original sculpture had no fig leaf to protect his modesty. The artist added the extra detail to prevent issues with Chinese collectors and left it in when the sculpture was displayed in Qatar. Nudity can offend Islamic culture, particularly in places where the general public has not been exposed to contemporary art.

Getty Images

He has previously gained attention by wrapping barbed wire around his naked body outside St Petersburg’s parliament in protest at the country’s “repressive legal system”.

For a stunt in 2012 in support of the then jailed Pussy Riot protestors he sewed his lips together and stood outside Petersburg’s Kazan Cathedral.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies