Virgin in a Condom is a sculpture created by British artist Tania Kovats in 1992[1] that proved controversial when exhibited in Australia and New Zealand as part of the exhibition Pictura Britannica.[2]

The sculpture

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Virgin in a Condom was made from resin, rubber, paint and wood and presents a statue of the Virgin Mary covered by a latex condom. At 11 centimetres high it was produced in an edition of 12 in 1992.[3]

The artist

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Tania Kovats was born in 1966 and studied at the Royal College of Art in London where she received her MA in 1990.[4] She grew up in a Catholic family and saw her sculpture as a reaction “toward patriarchal structures that influenced how a woman felt about her sexuality and fertility, and the work reflected on that. In the late 1980s, the condom was seen as protection and, as a Catholic, you were denied that.” Later she noted that the work had come, “at a formative point in my career, it made me realize the sort of artist I did and didn’t want to be.” She made the work when she was 27.[5] Kovats is now recognised for work in which the environment is a central concern.[6]

The reception of Virgin in a Condom in Sydney, Australia

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The exhibition Pictura Britannica, 100 works and 48 artists from Britain, was the first survey of contemporary British art to be shown in Australia for more than a decade. Curated by Bernice Murphy, it was first shown at the MCA in Sydney from 22 August to 30 November 1997 and was then toured by the British Council.[7] Art writer Anna Miles noted in Artforum that Murphy’s inclusion of the Virgin in a Condom in Pictura Britannica signalled that the exhibition would not be a conventional look at the YBAs with whom Kovats had been associated.[8] The work’s contentious nature was also noted in the catalogue, ‘The piece has emerged as a controversial talisman, eloquently encapsulating issues surrounding Catholicism, contraception, abortion and sexual identity.’[9] During the exhibition in Sydney, Virgin in a Condom was stolen from its plinth just days after another attack on a controversial work in Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria. There a visitor had removed Andres Serrano's photograph Piss Christ from the wall and smashed it with a hammer.[10] Although the Virgin in a Condom was banned in Adelaide and then dropped from the British tour,[11] it did not attract much specific media attention. A substantial review by Anthony Bond for instance did not mention Kovats’ Virgin in a Condom at all.[12]

The reception of Virgin in a Condom in Wellington, New Zealand

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Pictura Britannica  was shown in the National Museum of New Zealand  Te Papa Tongarewa from 6 March to 26 April 1998.[8] Wellington’s City Gallery had planned to show the exhibition but building issues made that impossible so instead Pictura Britannica was the opening exhibition of a new museum that was promoting itself as ‘Our Place’.[13] Two works proved controversial; Tania Kovats’s Virgin in a Condom and Sam Taylor-Wood's Wrecked (1996), a photographic version of  Leonardo da Vinci’s fresco Last Supper featuring a bare-breasted woman as the Christ figure.[14] Within days of opening, Te Papa had received over 40 letters complaining about Virgin in a Condom,[15] the display case was vandalized twice, and a visitor host assaulted.[16] The main objections to Virgin in a Condom came from members of the Catholic church who saw it as ‘deliberately insulting’ if not ‘outright blasphemous’.[15] Despite the complaints Te Papa insisted that the work remain on display with Chief executive Cheryl Sotheran explaining, ‘We have to be, as far as possible, clear of censorship issues of that sort and while this is an extremely sensitive and emotional subject, the museum has to be available for the expression of divergent and controversial views.’[17] Te Papa’s curator of contemporary art Ian Wedde added, ‘I thought a controversial contemporary exhibition early in the museum's agenda would be good because that's what we have to be’[18] As Te Papa’s position on Virgin in a Condom was based on the question of free speech,[19] Christian Heritage Party leader Graham Capill was prompted to comment that this was at odds with the way the museum protected Mãori spiritual ideas. ‘It's increasingly clear that any faith or belief is acceptable in New Zealand, except for the Christian faith'.[20] These statements were backed up by protests outside Te Papa and an intensive letter writing campaign. On 14 March there was a prayer vigil of 1,000 protesters and an Evening Post poll of 4,473 people revealed that 80.5 percent believed that Virgin in a condom and Wrecked works should be removed. Thirty-three thousand people signed a Catholic Communications Office petition demanding the Virgin's removal. Protests also came from the South Auckland Muslim Association, Faith in Action, and the Ethnic Council of Wellington.[21] Media attention was intense. In all, 84 stories were written about the controversy with Wellington’s Evening Post covering the story 60 times.[22] National Party MP, John Banks and author Denzil Meuli requested a prosecution for blasphemous libel under the Crimes Act, but the Solicitor General refused the case citing ‘the principle of freedom of expression'.[23] In an attempt to calm the situation, Te Papa arranged for a televised discussion on TV3[24] with their critics[25] and determined that future exhibitions would face more scrutiny. Te Papa curator Ian Wedde asserted that ‘In future, we may have to say there's a risk management factor to consider.’[26]

The exhibition closed on 26 April 1998

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Sladen, Mark (11 September 1995). "Tania Kovats". Frieze Magazine.
  2. ^ "Pictura Britannica". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Tania Kovats". Berghan Jiournal.
  4. ^ "Tania Kovats". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  5. ^ Cole, Ina (5 July 2017). "Unknowen Extremes: a Conversation with Tania Kovats". Sculpture Magazine.
  6. ^ "Tania Kovats". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Pictura Britannica". MCA. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b Miles, Anna (Summer 1998). "Pictura Britannica Anna Miles". Artforum. 36 (10): 144.
  9. ^ Pictura Britannica Art from Britain. Sydney, Australia: Museum of Contemporary Art. 1997. ISBN 1875632530.
  10. ^ Silvia, Paul J. (2009). "Looking Past Pleasure: Anger, Confusion, Disgust, Pride, Surprise, and Other Unusual Aesthetic Emotions Psychology of Aesthetics". Creativity, and the Arts. 3 (1): 49.
  11. ^ Stocker, Mark (2021). "Virgin in a Condom: Te Papa's baptism by fire". Tuhinga (32): 81–119.
  12. ^ Bond, Anthony (1998). "Pictura Britannica Art from Britain: Just Another Circus with those British Brats". Art & Australia. 36 (1).
  13. ^ Ireland, Peter (8 June 2016). "A selection from the national collection of 165 years of photography New Zealand Photography Collected". EyeContact. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  14. ^ "Artist unrepentant at baring breasts". New Zealand Herald. 27 March 1998.
  15. ^ a b Paine, Crispin (2013). Religious Objects in Museums: Private Lives and Public Duties London and New York. Bloomsbury. ISBN 9781003086529.
  16. ^ "Violent and Personal Threats to Museum Staff over 'Virgin'". Otago Daily Times. 10 March 1998.
  17. ^ "Virgin Statue on Show Despite Attack". Sunday Star-Times. 8 March 1998.
  18. ^ Catherell, S (15 March 1998). "Te Papa's fingers burnt over condom art". The Sunday Star Times. p. 1.
  19. ^ "Museum refuses to drop "gravely offensive" art". The Press (Christchurch). 9 March 1998.
  20. ^ Francis, Vic (15 June 1998). "Virgin in Condom Provokes Outcry". Christianity Today: 19.
  21. ^ Stocker, Mark (2023). "Virgin in a Condom and Te Papa 25 Years on". Museums World. 11 (1).
  22. ^ Walker, Olivia Christine (2010). Which themes emerge when the New Zealand media reports on Christianity? A thesis submitted to in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Communication Studies at the Auckland University of Technology.
  23. ^ "No Prosecution over Exhibits". Otago Daily Times. 28 March 1998.
  24. ^ "Backch@t: First Episode". Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  25. ^ Lane, Megan (14 April 1998). "Statue Debate Ends in Stalemate". Evening Post.
  26. ^ Catherall, Sarah (15 March 1998). "Te Papa's Fingers Burnt in Outrage Over Condom Art". Sunday Star-Times.