English/Nat A controversial American artist who makes mock-ups of terrorist bombs and nuclear devices is exhibiting his work at a new show opening Thursday at London's Saatchi Gallery. Gregory Green is one of five young American artists recently acquired for the Saatchi Collection. New American art is the theme of the latest exhibition of the Saatchi Collection. From Chicago Charles Ray's life-size fire truck to Sean Landers' canvases of what one is thinking while 'driving in a car for a long period of time.' But what has provoked the most reaction is a mechanically-accurate construction of a 15 kiloton (Plutonium 239) nuclear bomb by Gregory Green. The only missing ingredient appears to be the explosives - including the Plutonium. In the sculpture, a baseball takes the place of where the Plutonium should be. Green has also installed a recreation of a terrorist's hideaway. The room contains the ingredients for napalm and timing devices for bombs. Chillingly, Green's work is designed from everyday materials and the instructions for building such devices are available on the Internet and in libraries. He claims that recent Hollywood movies are much more dangerous than his art. SOUNDBITE (English): "There is much more information in those movies as to how to produce a bomb and how to use a bomb than you would every find in anything that I would ever do. I am personally opposed to the utilization of violence and anything that appears like it might illustrate how to do it, is actually sabotaged and would never, ever work." SUPER CAPTION: Gregory Green, Artist Among visitors previewing the show, there was some confusion as to what the sculptures are. SOUNDBITE: "Well, I thought it was art when I came in, but I realise it was a nuclear bomb. So, I thought it was a computerized of some kind, all to do with baseball, but there we are. Is it art? It's a statement and art's a statement of some type." SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop By purchasing the nuclear bomb mock-up, the modern art collector and advertising magnate Charles Saatchi has - in effect - given credibility to the work. SOUNDBITE (English): "I think this kind of art does have a message to people. It might challenge people's preconceptions to what art can be, it might challenge people's assumptions of what a cultural production or what is considered to be culture can be. So, to an extent, even if it only has a provocation to it's benefit, then that's a good thing in a way." SUPER CAPTION: Clement Paige, Art Teacher and Critic Green says his art is a series of studies of empowerment. SOUNDBITE (English): "The whole body of work that I'm doing right now is like a novel, and at the moment they are reading the first chapter. And the first chapter is very spectacular and very aggressive. But they need to read the rest of the book." SUPER CAPTION: Gregory Green, Artist Hopefully the title of the novel-in-progress won't be "Armageddon." You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ff7edb0743f5ea52aff46b30deb11666 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
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