MOSCOW, RUSSIA.- At 11 am on 20th October 2006, in Moscow, Matthew Bown, owner of the London-based Matthew Bown Gallery, was removed from flight SU 241 bound for London and detained by Russian authorities for questioning.

Bown was held in connection with his attempt to export artworks by the Russian art collective Blue Noses. The artworks in question include photographic images depicting presidents Putin and Bush cavorting with Osama Bin Laden, and of a suicide bomber in a burqa flashing her (or his?) underwear. The works in question are intended for exhibition at the Matthew Bown gallery from 9th November 2006.

After his removal from the flight, Bown was questioned by police over a period of approximately nine hours. He eventually flew out of Moscow at 20.45 on SU 247. The eleven works by Blue Noses he was transporting were not allowed to leave the country and are currently held by the Moscow police at Sheremetevo II airport. A selection of the confiscated works is shown on this page: click image to enlarge.

When Matthew Bown asked the reason for his interrogation and the confiscation of the artworks, he was told by a police officer that the Blue Noses' works "contain representations of heads of state and this could not pass unnoticed." This was a reference to the four works entitled Mask Show depicting Bush, Putin and Bin Laden. The officers were also concerned about the possibly inflammatory nature of an image of a suicide bomber entitled The Girl Has A Date.

Matthew Bown pointed out to the interrogating officers the limited effectiveness of confiscating photographic prints when the digital originals could be copied around the world at will. The point was taken by the interrogating officers, but higher authorities would not permit release of the photographs. At present it seems that these works by the Blue Noses will not be allowed out of Russia.

The detention and confiscation have attracted attention in the Russian media. Radio station Ekho Moskvy broadcast a phone conversation with Matthew Bown. Leading gallery owner and political activist Marat Gelman has commented on the incident to grani.ru (Russian language).

Blue Noses are known for their satirical and provocative videos, photographs and performances which parody and critique Russia's past and its present day capitalist boom. Their targets include political leaders, sexual and political correctness, and the platitudes of art history. Using low-tech methods they ape the look of high-tec. Blue Noses' intentions have always been to create work that can be understood and engaged with outside the restrictive realm of contemporary art; a populist approach for 'pioneers and pensioners'. Their energy, black humour, irreverence and sense of the grotesque distill the spirit of Russian art (and life) today.

http://matthewbown.com