"Migration is one of the most important questions of our time. The refugee crisis is one of the defining topics of the century. I feel compelled to make an artwork about it and, by doing so, help the people involved," said British artist Marc Quinn at Hay Festival Segovia on Friday.
Set to open in June 2021 on the steps of the New York Public Library, his not-for-profit artwork Our Blood will be created from blood donated by more than 10,000 people – with half of these volunteers being refugees. The project seeks to heighten awareness of the global refugee crisis and to raise millions of dollars for those whose lives are affected by it.
"The work itself is just the beginning. The real work is whatever action and debate then takes place," said Quinn, who appeared in conversation with British GQ editor Dylan Jones.
Inspired by the nearly 68.5 million people worldwide who have been forced from their homes, Quinn believes Our Blood can be a direct challenge to the divisive conversations that separate “us” and “them”. Our Blood is a collaborative sculpture consisting of two identical, metric-ton cubes of frozen human blood. Each cube is made of blood donated by more than 2,500 volunteers: one by refugees, one by non-refugees. The cubes will be indistinguishable and thus the artwork embodies the basic notion that, under the skin, we’re all the same.
Find our more about Our Blood here and explore the rest of the Hay Festival Segovia programme here.