Massive sculptural activities and Business Insider portrait of Galschiøt
 
 
Galschiøt in conversation with Marina Abramovic about Performance art
and in the process of making very small pillars of Shame sculptures.
 
 
 
Dear
 
Sorry I have not written before. But here comes a quick newsletter.
 
One of the world's largest magazines with 73 million readers, "Business Insider", has written a great article / portrait of Galschiøt and Pillar of Shame. It can be downloaded here in the original language English. We are quite proud and happy for the thorough article.
In connection with the debate on art in honk Kong and the pillar of shame, Chris Patten says The Chinese government is demolishing the freedoms that once made the special administrative region special,
 
But a lot of other things are happening, based on Galleri Galschiøt both in Denmark and abroad.
 
 
The workshop / gallery and The Pillar of Shame in the world
 
A lot is happening unbelievably around The Pillar of Shame sculpture. It is almost incomprehensible that a small workshop in Denmark can succeed in creating a sculpture project that has become one of the world's most talked about and famous works of art.
 
The Pillar of Shame sculpture has become the ultimate artistic symbol of China's reaction and abuse of its own people. June 4 is the 33rd anniversary of the massacre at Tiananmen Square 1989. Many of the activities are centered around this date, which happens to be Jens Galschiøt's birthday, which he has often spent attending memorial ceremonies around the massacre.
 
Here is a small selection of the activities that emanate from the democracy movement and from the workshop in Odense. You can also get a good impression of the activities if you read the Business Insider article.
 
In the workshop in Denmark, we are in the process of making copies of Pillar of Shame sculptures in copper. These are smaller models of 3 to 4 meters of the large one from Hong Kong. They are to be used as permanent memorials at some of the world's leading universities. But first they just have to be used for actions / demonstrations around human rights in China (see below about the transportable memorial). The large sculptures take up a lot of space at the meeting place over time, we would like to have 6-7 pieces ready before the summer.
 
Transportable Memorial: We are also working on converting a car trailer into a kind of running Pillar of Shame memorial to the Tiananmen massacre of 1989. We will lend the monument to activist groups in Europe. We have learned from both the installations in Rome and Budapest that it becomes quite cumbersome and relatively expensive for those who want to use The Pillar of Shame monument for temporary installations. Therefore, we have developed this transportable memorial. It complies with all standard traffic dimensions and is only 3.8 meters high, about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide and weighs a total of less than 900 kg. It has its own platform mounted with the copper model of
The Pillar of Shame at 2.6 meters and there is room for info material, flowers, candles etc. on the platform.
It can be set up in a few minutes and is so stable that it can be left unattended. It can be immediately hooked on a regular car trailer hook. You just unhook it from the car, lay the sides down and place it in an angle/level with the 4 jacks that are integrated in the construction. You can also use it to take part in demonstrations and other initiatives. We will finish the prototype already this week. Write if you are interested to Jens @ Galschiøt.com.
 
Hungary: The Pillar of Shame model (2.6 m) has just returned from Hungary, where the Mayor of Budapest borrowed a 4-meter copper copy of the sculpture, which has been erected in the middle of the city for 1.5 months as a symbol against China's influence in Hungary's education policy and Viktor Orbán.
 
Denmark: 3 copies of which the Pillar of Shame is placed in Copenhagen (Rådhuspladsen) and Ålborg (Musikhuset), respectively, where they serve as a memorial to the victims of the Ukraine war. The third has been set up in Odense on Gråbrødre Torv for a few months, but were taken down, because we had to use it for the construction of the transportable monuments.
 
Czech Republic: In Prague, they are in the process of planning a major art exhibition focusing on the Chinese democracy movement with the participation of some of the best Chinese-critical artists. The Pillar of Shame is centrally located in the city and in the exhibition.
 
In Taiwan they are preparing an exhibition where they, among other things, will set up the Pillar of Shame in 3D print in full size of 8 meters on the 4th of June. It will probably be one of the largest 3D prints of a sculpture that has been made so far. Galschiøt will join (if Covid 19 allows it) and will take part in the activities and talk about the massacre on Tiananmen Square in 1989.
 
Norway: In the center of Oslo, a full-size Pillar of Shame sculpture of 8 meters will be erected on the 25th of May in the university garden at Karl Johan street gaden (Map: https://goo.gl/maps/St1MGpdnoqYCVMga8),  , where be ceremonies and other activities will be held around the 4th of June. The Hong Kong Committee in Norway and Amnesty International are responsible for the project.
 
In the Netherlands, there are extensive activities around the Pillar of Shame. A 3D printing project about China is being made in many schools. They will 3D print the sculpture and use it in teaching.
 
USA: In Washington DC, they are still working on raising funds to build the Pillar of Shame in
bronze in front of the Chinese Embassy. It is a rather demanding project and casting, and it will be fantastic to have a permanent memorial to the Tiananmen massacre right there in bronze. There are some good people behind the idea, so it's a pretty realistic project.
 
Germany: The Democracy Movement is trying to enter the important art exhibition "Documenta 15" in Kassel with an art exhibition about the artistic movement that has emerged around China and their encroachment on both Hong Kong and human rights in general. But there is a doubt as to whether they succeed. Unfortunately, the established art world is not much for activist art movements.
 
3D and virtual worlds: We have some good Tek and IT people to make a super 3 D scan file of the Pillar of Shame in the workshop, which we will release in full quality in many gigabytes, when it is finished. It takes a long time to make this scan.
At the same time, we are working on making special 3D files that can be included as an object in e.g. mobile phone cameras and in virtual worlds e.g. in games, Metaverse, etc.. When the files are finished, they are released so that everyone can set up virtual Shame Pillars in a lot of contexts as a symbol of supporting the Chinese democracy movement and criticism of China.
 We are currently creating a very detailed photo file that can be used to print the Pillar of Shame on large photocopies up to 20 meters high. We are constantly working to develope other and new ideas and forms of action in IT field. It's quite exciting.
 
There have been various groups in the world that 3D print and sell copies of the Pillar of Shame and use the profits to support activities around the democracy movement. We have bought 50 pcs. of the Pillar of Shame to support them, but they have not arrived at the workshop yet. You can buy copies yourself here. It is a famous art group "the Lady Liberty Group" that is behind it. You can also 3D print it yourself by downloading a copyright free 3D file here. See a 3D printer making a Pillar of Shame
 
A lot more is happening, the above is just a selection, and we do not have an overview of it all. Most things happen by themselves without our involvement and knowledge. For security reasons, many activities cannot be published, until they are completed.
 
The original the Pillar of Shame is still in Hong Kong. It has been in a container since 24th of December, and we have lawyers, 2 shipping companies, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help get it out. It is not easy. Over 12 transport companies have said no to move it down to the port for fear of reprisals from the Chinese authorities. We try everything and we think we will succeed in getting it out one day, but when is very uncertain.
 
Galschiøt has also offered to come and pick it up with a couple of people and a mobile crane, but we estimate that he will be imprisoned and accused of the new security law. And then there are also just Corona quarantines and other obstacles. So this plan is probably not realistic either.
The best greetings
From all of us at Gallery Galschiøt
 
Contact to Jens Galschiøt
Mobil +45 40447058
E mail: jens@Galschiøt.com 
 
 
*******
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
If you want to subscribe this infolist, then click here: Subscribe to Galschiøts infoliste
 
 
Background and history
The Pillar of Shame in Hongkong
 
 
17 Oct. 2021
 
China has attacked art symbol of Tiananmen Square crackdown. We won the first two battles - but everything is uncertain!
 
 
We are under attack from China in Hong Kong. In a letter the democracy movement was given a deadline of 4 days to move the 9 m high sculpture, which is a memorial to the Tiananmen square crackdown in 1989, otherwise China would destroy the sculpture that has beeb standing at Hong Kong University for 24 years.

We are quite pressed for time, so we just send this short newsletter.
 
 Everything has been chaos since, and we have mobilized our networks all over the world to prevent the sculpture from being destroyed. And it's been successful so far.
 
Thousands of NGOs, artists, activists, politicians and other good people have joined the fight to preserve the sculpture, and we have succeeded to postpone the destruction of the artwork.
 
At the same time, it has succeeded in setting a new standard for what U.S. law firms can allow themselves to do to help the Chinese goverment. Part of the pressure to prevent the destruction of the artwork has been directed at getting the law firm Mayer Brown to withdraw from helping Hong Kong University destroy and remove the sculpture. And we succeeded on the 15th of October.
 
So 2 battles have been won, but it is still uncertain whether we can get the opportunity to get the sculpture out of Hong Kong.
 
So we need all the help we can get, by informing about China's attacks on art and freedom of speech. If necessary,  Forward this email to a friend or create one yourself.
 
All the activities have been continuously described by a huge press campaign. We have made a selection of the articles here - good reading - you can probably find something from your own country as well.
 
We have posted our own press releases and all documents in the on Galschiot's website.
 
Although we have worked ourselves to death, this struggle for art and the Chinese's right to remember their own history is also a very life-affirming experience. The whole process shows that it is possible for ordinary people to enact a little influence on the global stage.
 
7.380.000 link: A quick Google search word combination "Pillar of Shame" (a word that comes specifically from this sculpture, as we created it ourselves) today gives 7.380.000 links.
 
"We are still alive". We have written history and shown that there are limits to what the world will allow.
 
All the best
Jens Galschiøt - The artist behind The Piller of Shame
and his hard-working staff
 
Denmark 17 Oct 2021
Email:  Jens @galschiot.com
Mobile: Tlf: +45 4044 7058
 
 
 
 
********
 
The monument in Hong Kong
 
 
In 1997, I erected an 8 meter tall monument in Hong Kong in memorial of the massacre. This monument is so far still the only memorial about the Tiananmen Square massacre on Chinese soil. 
 
Placing this sculpture in Hong Kong cost me a permanent expulsion from China and two expulsions from Hong Kong. I think it's important that artists, cultural groups, and others that defend human rights use their freedom of speech to tell the story of the massacre. I hope that you will help in doing this. 
 
32 years after the massacre history seems to be tragically repeating itself. Now with Hong Kong as the epicenter for youth demanding their basic Human Rights and the Chinese Government forcefully fighting down the youth. China has passed landmark legislation to force national security laws in Hong Kong, effectively crushing the city's autonomy, removing pro-democratic forces from the parliament and sending pro-democrats in jail.
 
In February 2020 I erected ‘A Pillar of Shame’ sculpture in front of the Danish parliament, as a protest against that China is once again using extreme force against youth people demonstrating for their democracy rights, this time in Hong Kong.
 
The China's National People's Congress are now directly interfering with the justice system and the freedom of speech in Hong Kong, which is an unprecedented violation of the agreement between England and China for the handover of Hong Kong. China has fundamentally changed the status of Hong Kong and basic Human and Democracy rights are no longer respected as they used to be.
I hereby encourage everyone to protest against China’s assault on Hong Kong citizens.
Let us remeber the youth that lost their life at Tiananmen Square and let us support the youth in Hong Kong, so we will not see the same tragic outcome once again.     
  
Kind regards,
Jens Galschiøt
 
 
 
 
 About Hong Kong at the moment
 
China’s supression of free speech is spreading to Hong Kong. Galschiot is just one of many critics who have been denied entry. So the city is deprived of a cultural exchange that is taken for granted in all open democratic societies. The expulsions are a blatant violation of the principle of ‘One country – Two systems’ that was guaranteed as part of Hong Kong’s reunion with China in ‘97.

In 2013 Galschiøt managed to enter Hong Kong to repair ‘The Pillar of Shame’. In these very years Hong Kong stands on the precipice of realizing the 1997 agreements with China, to develop a real democracy in Hong Kong. But they are under a lot of pressure from non-democratic forces. The results of these negotiations are crucial for the future of Hong Kong.
 
Throughout 2019 and 2020 massive demonstrations in Hong Kong took place. They fought for their basic human rights that China promised Hong Kong's citizens when they took over the country in 1997, But the peaceful demonstrations have been met with comprehensive violent force from Hong Kong's police.
 
Today China has passed landmark legislation to force national security laws in Hong Kong, effectively crushing the city's autonomy, removing pro-democratic forces from the parliament and sending pro-democrats in jail.
 
A functioning democracy on Chinese ground, even though only in Hong Kong, is an extremely important symbol for the more than one billion living in mainland China.
 
Useful links:  
Download the documents about Tiananmen 1989
 
The democracy movement in Hong Kong:
  
Phone: +852 2782 6111

Contact Jens Galschiot: E-mail: aidoh@aidoh.dk, Internet: www.aidoh.dk, tel. +45 6618 4058, Banevaenget 22, DK-5270 Odense N
 
 
*****************
 
 
 
  
About Jens Galschiøt:
 
Danish artist Jens Galschiøt has created many socio-critical sculptures and installations through the years. Most often they are placed in public spaces around the world – as needle-sticks and silent reminders of a world that, in his opinion, is out of balance, and where exploitation of the world’s resources, inequality and migration are a constant part of the picture.
 
 
 
General information about Galschiøt can be found at:
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Pillar of shame in Hong Kong Galschiot 2013

 Jens Galachiøt and people from China's democracy movementGalschiot refugees sculpture

 

 

 

 

 

 

This mail has been sent from the sculptor Jens Galschiøt's workshhop.
Contact to the workshop:
Galleri Galschiøt
Banevænget 22
5270 Odense N

Tlf : (+45) 6618 4058

Fax:(+45) 6618 4158portrait of Jens Galschiot 2012
Overview over Galschiøt sculptures
Portrait of a sculptor Jens Galschiøt (PDF)
 
Link to all news emails sent from Jens Galschiøt since 2014
****************************************** 
 ******************************************
 
Subscrition and unsubscription of informations from Jens Galschiøt
If you want to be unsubscribed from this infolist, then click here: Unsubscribe
If you want to update your name, e-mail etc. on this list, click here: Change Profile
If you want to subscribe this infolist, then click here: Subscribe to Galschiøts infoliste