The Rape/Mocking of Christ.
Cryla/Emulsion on Canvas. 72 inches x 60 inches. 1983.
In 1983 Lenkiewicz exhibited Project 16. This project attempted to survey as wide a
range as possible of human activities relating to sexual behaviour. He attempted to do
this seriously without attention to the law. As the show was presented he was asked by the
Council and the Police to warn visitors, "Local Authority regard this project as
unsuitable for those under eighteen, this is not the painter's opinion". It
seemed extraordinary to Lenkiewicz that sexual proclivities active all day and all night
in the private lives of the complainees should become an issue in law. The policeman who
removed a painting on masturbation admitted that he masturbated. The Council
representative who restricted imagery connected with prostitution was friendly with the
prostitutes. Heterosexual behaviour, homosexual behaviour, auto-erotic behaviour,
bestiality, even necrophilia are commonplace in our society and most societies, and
characterise more than 50% of all human entertainments. It is interesting that when the
authorities visited the Exhibition to consider closure, the paedophilia section went
entirely unnoticed. T'he local reaction to the project was of far greater interest and
stimulation in Lenkiewicz's view than the project itself and much more revelatory.
The project attempted to demonstrate that there was no end to human creativity, that
loneliness combined with human passion could animate a hoover to far more gratifying
potentials than one's wife. The project seemed to indicate that all sexual behaviour was
auto-erotic; from marriage partners to strangers' underwear. It seemed an inherent and
terrible isolation lay just under the surface of some of the most powerful desires to
consult with and connect to the world around us. Auto-erotic activity finds itself its own
reward, such as it is. It has little to do with the subtler aspects of human relationships
and claims for the credibility of 'the other'.
Robert Lenkiewicz