Danish artist warns University of Hong Kong he could bill it for any damage to Pillar of Shame Tiananmen Square sculpture
- Jens Galschiøt has waded into the row over the tribute to the victims of the 1989 military crackdown in Beijing that University of Hong Kong wants gone by Wednesday
- He warns management he owns the artwork in principle and could charge the school for any damage to it
A Danish artist has threatened to seek redress from Hong Kong’s top university if his sculpture paying tribute to the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown is damaged should management remove it from campus next week.
The eight-metre-high Pillar of Shame by Jens Galschiøt was first erected at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in Pok Fu Lam in 1997, and according to the sculptor was on permanent loan to the group that organised the annual candlelight vigil commemorating the pro-democracy activists killed by the military in Beijing on June 4, 1989.
But after the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China decided to disband in August amid a national security investigation, HKU management informed the group it had until Wednesday 5pm to remove the 2 tonne artwork or else it would be deemed abandoned. The university said the move was based on its assessment of legal risks in light of the alliance’s dissolution.
According to Galschiøt, however, the sculpture is not theirs to throw away. In an open letter, the artist said that as no purchase contract was made nor payment received, the Pillar of Shame belonged to him in principle.
“I am baffled since I have not received any official request to move my sculpture,” he said. “I wonder why I am being informed about this through the press.”
According to Galschiøt, it had been agreed that the alliance and HKU should administer the permanent exhibition together and bear the attending expenses.