Police have reportedly seized more than 30 works by Russian artist Oleg Kulik, which were on display at the contemporary art fair FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain) in Paris. The works stand accused of “spreading messages of a violent a

The director and curator of Moscow XL Gallery, Elena Selina, who took Kulik’s exhibition to Paris, was also detained but was released five hours later.

Among the seized works are photos and videos of Kulik’s performances, including his famous “Mad Dog”, which made him known in 1994. In it the naked artist barks and attacks passers-by. There is also a video performance made in New York featuring a naked Kulik in a cage, where he spent two weeks.

Selina believes police acted on the request of French customs. She says that while checking the works with the lists before the FIAC, customs officers made claims concerning their subject matter.

On October 23, the opening day of the fair, FIAC organisers were asked to display a warning about the nature of the featured pieces at the entry to the XL Gallery’s stand. The request was fulfilled and, according to the curator, visitors did not make any complaints against the exhibition.

“The situation is impossible to bare! You can’t smoke. It will soon be forbidden to kiss in the street. But how can we show what is going on in life then? Something is not allowed because it’s offensive to animal activists, other things because of Islamists or people deprived of sexual life,” Selina said.

According to her, no criminal case has been launched but the works remain in police custody and it is not known when they will be returned.

Oleg Kulik is one of the most famous and controversial modern artists in Russia. Along with his works, the XL Gallery also taken the works of renowned artists, such as Vladimir Dubosarsky and Aleksandr Vinogradov.