Cologne, Germany  - Italian sculptor Maurizio Cattelan, 47, has been commissioned to do an installation at the Stommeln Old Synagogue, the town of Pulheim in suburban Cologne said Wednesday.

Padua-born Cattelan is widely known for the weird humour of such provocative works as Ninth Hour/1999, which once depicted Pope John Paul II flattened by a meteorite. Most of his works are in some way about death.

The two-part installation will be shown from June 1 to August 10 and will depict "religion and history in a desperate struggle against the greater power of death," city art officials said.

Pulheim has been commissioning contemporary artists to do installations in the town's former Jewish house of worship since 1991. (dpa)