I have, since December 23rd, 2021, tried to hire a transport company to help me move my sculpture "The pillar of shame".

 

 

 

• To pick up a 20-foot container at the Port of Hong Kong

• Drive it to Lam Kam Road, Shek Kong, Yuen Long, N. T., Hong Kong, where the sculpture is stored in a container belonging to the University of Hong Kong

• With a crane truck or forklift, lift my sculpture “The Pillar of Shame” out of Hong Kong University's container and load it into the shipping company's container.

• Then drive the container back to the port. My shipping company will handle the shipping of the container to Denmark.

• The cargo (sculpture) is divided into 2 pieces, or maybe even more. It is not clear to us at this point, since it has been taken down from University of Hong Kong, without my participation. The heaviest part weighs max. 2 tons and the smaller pieces weigh a maximum of 700 kg. All bits & pieces must be included in the shipping company's containers. The sculpture is made of steel structures and fiber concrete and is quite solid. It has in Nov. 2021 been examined by an expert, who assessed, that it was in good condition.

 

The reason for this open letter is that for the last 4 months, I have been trying to get a company to help me and so far, over 12 transport companies in Hong Kong have refused to take on the task.

 

I do not know why, but I suppose it is due to the sculpture's fame as a very well-known local and international symbol of Chinese history around democracy.

 

It does not seem that it is the local authorities, the University of Hong Kong or the Chinese authorities in mainland China that oppose a transport out of Hong Kong. 

 

It is my clear feeling that the rejections are rooted in uncertainty, because everyone in Hong Kong is insecure about what the future will hold for the city and that everyone is self-censoring themselves, in fear of violating any limits of what is allowed in the new situation.

 

I may be wrong so I would kindly ask both hong kong university and the Hong Kong City Government to publicly confirm that they will not put obstacles in the way of the sculpture moving down to the harbor. So all transpot films can be sure that it is OK to move the sculpture.

 

This situation is poisonous for a dynamic society like Hong Kong and may in the long run cause the whole trade structure to collapse, because trade will move to other places where one can rely on the legal system in terms of private property and trade rules. If you risk crucial consequences, in taking on an ordinary transport task of a work of art that has been a part of Hong Kong's history for almost 25 years, Hong Kong has a big problem.