Pete Doherty Bloody Art Exhibition

Pete Doherty Bloody Art Exhibition NEWS

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Artwork that has been painted using musician Pete Doherty's blood has gone on display as the troubled singer reinvents himself as an artist.

The exhibition, entitled 'On Blood: A Portrait of the Artist', has opened at Camden's Cob Gallery in London. Doherty, who battled a well-publicised struggle with drug abuse, shows that like his lifestyle, his artwork is anything but conventional.

He claims that his artistic method involved squirting his own blood onto canvas from a syringe as 'arterial splatter' and combining the browning bloody streaks with collages, poetry and song lyrics to make the finished work of art.

The exhibition also includes several collaborative pieces with some of his famous friends. The late singerAmy Winehouse used her own blood to paint herself on a canvas alongside the word 'ladylike'. Prices for the artwork range from £4,500 to £8,000 for original paintings and £500 for limited edition prints. The show's co-curator, Rachel Chudley, has defended the gruesome nature of Doherty's paintings. She stated to Sky News:

'If you look at art through the ages, the subject matter has always been life. We all die and painting in blood is a reminder of our mortality. It's a universal media (sic). I don't think there is anything gory about it.'

Amy Winehouse used her own blood for this piece entitled Ladylike

Also on display are relics hoarded by Doherty over the years, including entire collections of old typewriters, cameras, guitars and tobacco boxes as well as crucifixes, rosaries, skulls, a stuffed swan, two ravens and a selection of records.

It is the first time Doherty, who once dated supermodelKate Moss, has exhibited as an artist in Britain, although in 2008 he showed his work at the Chappe gallery in Paris, where he currently lives.

Doherty was the frontman for The Libertines, which he co-founded with Carl Barat, and then Babyshambles.

In May 2011, Doherty was sentenced in Britain to six months in jail for cocaine possession but released in July, in time to make solo appearances at the Leeds and Reading festivals.

The year before, Doherty reunited with The Libertines after reconciling with Barat to play the same summer festivals.

He recently played a couple of solo gigs in London and is believed to be working on new music material.

On Blood: A Portrait Of The Artist and Guts for Garters is on display at the Cob Gallery until March 4.