On a recent Sunday afternoon at an out-of-the-way gallery in Manhattan, an unusual, even disturbing, work of art was coming to life.

A large canvas, about six by 13 feet, had been propped face-up on a table. Only a few white areas remained: the rest was heavily smeared, like a finger painting with a shimmering, reddish liquid.

Nearby, a medical technician stood ready to greet visitors with syringes and band-aids.

Jose Caicedo was touring a studio upstairs when he spotted the flyer for 'One Blood', an art project in which dozens of people, mostly strangers to each other, contribute to an abstract ''blood painting''.

Its creators say it symbolises human solidarity in the wake of last year's Sept 11 terrorist attacks.

''The idea of all as one appealed to me,'' Caicedo said, snapping on a pair of latex gloves and rubbing liquid from a vial of his still-warm blood onto the canvas. ''In this age we should all stick together. I'm glad I came upon it.''

'One Blood' is the brainchild of Claire Lemmel and David Jones, native Texans now living in California. The New York piece was the fifth they have organised since last October.

Four other blood paintings, done in Houston, San Francisco, Washington and their tiny town in northern California, were also on display at the gallery here.

Beyond politics and religion

''It's a plea that the bloodshed of 9/11 not be used as an excuse to visit more bloodshed on other people,'' said Jones, a lanky, amiable man with a silver ponytail, who personally drove the paintings to New York on a flatbed truck.

Lemmel agreed, adding, ''For me, this is beyond politics, beyond religion. It's about people, about the unity of how we're all connected''.

The idea of doing a blood piece first came to Lemmel a couple years ago when the couple's daughter Renee fell and knocked out two baby teeth that had been ''hanging on by a thread''.

The image of red blood on a white towel piqued the artist's interest, but getting hold of enough blood to cover a large canvas &38212 about five pints posed difficulties.

Jones said they considered using cow blood, but decided that just would not work. They ended up putting the idea on hold.

''The Intifada (uprising in Palestine) was going on, all the horror of the Middle East,'' he said. ''We wanted to do a piece called ' Intifada: 2,000 Days of Rage '. Then Sept 11 happened. We went to a vigil and decided it was time to do the blood piece.''

Word about the planned artwork quickly spread through their community, and friends and neighbours began coming forward and volunteering blood.

Jones and Lemmel held a series of meetings at their home to hammer out the logistics. About 22 people ended up participating in the first 'One Blood'.

The project really seems to strike an emotional chord, Jones said. When the original canvas was shown in Houston, Texas for a special New Year's Eve service at a politically active church, more than two dozen people came forward and asked the artists to help them make their own ' One Blood ' painting. The same thing happened in other cities, Jones said.

The couple is now organising a 'One Blood International' project that would travel around the world, with people in different countries each contributing one drop of blood to a circular six-foot canvas.

It takes about two days for the canvases to dry completely, at which point they assume what Lemmel describes as a pleasing ''copper mahogany'' hue.

Each looks subtly different, with darker, almost black streaks where blood has coagulated. Altogether, the five paintings represent the blood of more than 100 people.

Once dry, blood becomes sterile. A medical professional is on hand at every ''One Blood'' event to draw blood, collect consent forms and ensure that participants are protected against disease.

Anti-war statements

Other artists are also using blood to make powerful anti-war statements. Geoff Todd, a well-respected Australian sculptor and painter, started working in his own blood last year to protest Prime Minister John Howard's support of the US-led war on Afghanistan.

A sister who is a nurse helps him draw the blood. Todd has finished two triptychs, each depicting the horrors of armed conflict and his feelings of impotence as an artist.

''I was overcome by the fact that this was more serious than I intended,'' Todd said. ''It has a sort of sacredness.''

Jones agreed. ''Very few people have neutral reactions to blood,'' he said. ''They are very affected by blood that is 'out of place', outside the body. I've found that people who are disturbed by it don't stick around. And a lot of people are very moved by the pieces.'' IPS