Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan is inviting people from around the world to confess their sins via a special hotline, in his latest provocative work. The project, launched ahead of Easter, allows callers to leave voice notes which Cattelan will select from for a livestreamed event on 23 April, where he will play the role of a priest and absolve participants.
Cattelan, known for works such as a gold toilet titled 'America' and a duct-taped banana called 'Comedian', insists the project is not intended to shock. 'I don't see it as absolution. It's not religious authority, it's a shared gesture,' he told the Guardian. The hotline coincides with the 21st anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II, and the release of a limited edition of miniatures of Cattelan's 1999 sculpture 'La Nona Ora', which depicted the pope being struck by a meteorite.
The edition consists of 666 hand-painted resin copies, each retailing for €2,200. Cattelan said he enjoys 'working with symbols people think they understand, and then shifting them slightly.' The number 666, associated with evil in the Bible, is a deliberate provocation. Despite past controversies, the Vatican commissioned Cattelan in 2024 to create an artwork for its Venice Biennale offering, which Pope Francis visited.
Cattelan described his relationship with Catholicism as complex: 'It's belief, theatre, control, comfort – all at once. I'm not trying to defend it or attack it.' He expects callers to the hotline to offer a mix of playful and serious confessions, adding that his own confession would be 'that I trust doubt more than certainty.'
