A SELF-CONFESSED pagan is displaying a piece of sculpture at York Minster which features her own blood.

But York St John College fine art student Susan Kruse's work, a depiction of the pagan Goddess Bridget and the Christian St Bridget, has been backed by church officials - and by visitors who have flocked to view it.

The four-metre high angel-like figure was constructed using more than 20 metres of silk, rusting steel wool and copper wire. Ms Kruse used some of her own blood to make it a "ritual" piece.

Ms Kruse, who spent time with nuns at St Bridget's Abbey in Kildare, Ireland, to research her piece, said her aim was to show viewers the "feminine side of divinity".

"I wanted to show that it can exist in a Christian, as well as a non-Christian context," she said. "I wanted to make a piece that made people think about the female divine and the feminine side of God. There is a little bit of blood, but it is a symbolic amount."

Louise Hampson, collections manager at York Minster, said the work was an "interesting challenge for the Minster".

"We felt it was interesting for people's perceptions of the feminine aspect of religion. It explores her own religious beliefs and, as an organisation, we don't have a problem with that," she said.

"The presence of blood, of course, also has strong Christian connotations and is very powerful because of the Eucharist."

The Dean of York, the Very Rev Keith Jones, said: "St Bridget has a very strong Christian meaning and we know what this work means."

The work will be on view until February 4.

Updated: 10:11 Saturday, January 29, 2005