Dear . Here are some thoughts from my exhibition at the EU Parliament. Best regards Jens Galschiøt
Hong Kong's art scene and "The Zone of Interest"
Is the Oscar-winning film an analogy to what is happening in Hong Kong?
In connection with our EU Parliament debates on art censorship and conditions in China, I've had a strange feeling of participating in an absurd theater, and the written contributions we receive fro m official China and, for example, from Art Basel, suggest that we inhabit two entirely different realities.
This morning I remembered why it seemed particularly absurd to me. It's because I'm currently quite absorbed in the new Oscar-winning film "The Zone of Interest" – and it's an accurate description of the feeling I have about what is happening in Hong Kong right now.
We host grand meetings and art exhibitions in Hong Kong with concerts and dance performances. We give speeches about the wonders of life and admire artists, actors, and musicians who show us their fantastic performances.
All this is happening while China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong, harshening its National Security Law - with Article 23.
In "The Zone of Interest" film, there are also lots of parties with intellectual conversations and extravagant dinners, accompanied by classical music. The hostess is the wife of Rudolf Höss, who was the leader of the Auschwitz camp, located right next to the magnificent villa where she lives and where the events take place.
She insists that she and her guests should only focus on the beauty of life, and she will protect her children from the reality happening on the other side of the wall that rises up in the backyard of the house.
They can smell and see the smoke from the crematorium ovens, but no one takes notice, and there is not a word about the concentration camps in the film, which makes it so unbelievably powerful.
This is almost analogous to what is happening in Hong Kong with China's conference and Art Basel-HK, both happening in the upcoming "Art Week" week in the city in March. Art Basel has even assured us in their letter that they haven't been subjected to any form of censorship by Chinese authorities.
Everything seems to be allowed.
- That the art scene in Hong Kong is heavily censored
- That thousands of artists have fled or are imprisoned
- That all art criticizing China has been removed or censored from both museums and public spaces
- That Hong Kong has a major ongoing trial, where my artwork "The Pillar of Shame" is being used as evidence against the democracy movement, who is accused of erecting the sculpture in Hong Kong.
They are all in prisons just a few kilometers away from where the conferences and Art Basel fairs party and trade in art.
It's thought-provoking, isn't it, that while we celebrate and elevate the film "The Zone of Interest" at the West's finest Oscar awards ceremony, we are reenacting the essence of the film as a kind of documentary in Hong Kong at both Art Basel-HK and China's official meetings.
In both places, willing participants from some of the West's finest museums, galleries, and cultural personalities participate in the festivities.
Later this year, it's the auction houses' turn to participate in the same performance in the city, where the Western art giants Christie's, Bonhams, Sotheby's, and Phillips will join the orgy and sell artworks for billions of dollars.
No one mentions the elephant in the room, even though it's visible to all.
I thought you might find this text useful for something, if nothing else, just to reflect on how the world looks.
I would like to emphasize that I do not mean to directly compare the actions of Western art institutions in Hong Kong to the horrors of World War II. The comparison with "the zone" lies in living in different realities and refusing to see what is happening just outside one's door. In doing so, one risks being a "useful idiot" and contribute to legitimizing great harm to other people.
Feel free to use anything in this letter publicly as quotes from me.
Best regards,
Jens Galschiøt
Our debates and meetings in the European Parliament have been going very well. You can check out my
Bellow is Press Kit, background info etc.
Press coverage from the EU Parliament Exhibition and debates.
English
- Hong Kong artists flee as city grapples with status as arts hub amid rising repression | Hong Kong | The Guardian
- ‘A strong signal to China’: Tiananmen Square massacre memorial erected outside European Parliament | CNN
- HRIC Executive Director Speaks at Opening of "Forbidden Art" Exhibit (substack.com)
- ArtDependence | EU Exhibits ‘The Pillar of Shame’ at the European Parliament in Brussels
- Anna Fotyga på X: "Communism deprives personal liberty, religious freedoms but also imposes censorship on art and culture. A Million HK$ in reward is offered for the apprehension of deported #HongKong democracy activists in Europe. Next week, by exhibiting the confiscated liberty symbol ‘The… https://t.co/6smu61vc7t" / X (twitter.com)
- HRIC Executive Director Speaks at Opening of "Forbidden Art" Exhibit (substack.com)
- CNN - A model of the “Pillar of Shame,” a memorial to... | Facebook
- EU Parliament Puts Tiananmen Square Hoax Pillar on Display, Makes Nonsensical Claim They are Against Censorship, by Andrew Anglin – InfoDaily Hub
- https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2022/12/whom-to-serve-artistic-censorship-china/
- ADVChina (reddit.com)
- Danish Artist host exhibition to send China a signal - Scandasia
- ‘A strong signal to China’: Tiananmen Square massacre memorial erected outside European Parliament (yahoo.com)
- Ground News - ‘A strong signal to China’: Tiananmen Square massacre memorial erected outside European Parliament
- CNN – Style Archives | News Channel 3-12 (keyt.com)
- Self-Censorship, Hong Kong’s Next Export – The Diplomat
- 「國殤之柱」矗立歐洲議會門前 高志活要告訴中國「你們管不到」 — RFA 自由亞洲電台粵語部
- The rulers sold their country in various ways, and the ruled sacrificed everything they had to be patriotic; the sellers used the patriots as bargaining chips in their hands to place their bets, and the patriots, in their ignorance, became the dowagers for the sellers. The truth of history has been in the dust for thousands of years. Who should be nailed to the pillar of shame in history? --Zhang Shuming 统治者以各种方式卖国，被统治的人以牺牲自身的一切去爱国；卖国者将爱国者作为手中的筹码去下注，爱国者懵里懵懂成了为卖国者做嫁衣的人。历史的真相蒙尘千百年，到底谁该被钉在历史的耻辱柱上？ ——张淑明 | Quote by 张淑明 | Writco
- EU Parliament Puts Tiananmen Square Hoax Pillar on Display, Makes Nonsensical Claim They are Against Censorship, by Andrew Anglin - The Unz Review
Taiwanese
Indian
Korean
Italian
Chinese
Attack on us from a Chinese conspiracy theorist:
 Censorship debate in EU Parliametn. Christies, Art Basel, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips chose to stay away from the debate, so their seats stood empty. invitation. Participants: Moderator: Samuel Chu (President of The Campaign for Hong Kong). Eric Wear (Zoom-International Association of Art Critics (AICA)). Nik Williams (Index on Censorship), Jens Galschiøt Artist DK, Lumli Lumlong (exiled Hong Kong artist-painter duo).
Press Kit, background info etc.
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Contact List –
We are available for interviews and additional information.
- Jens Galschiøt (artist behind Pillar of Shame and this exhibition)
aidoh@aidoh.dk - ph +45 4044 7058 / +45 66184058
- MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen. (Member of EU Parliament, Host of the exhibition)
kira.peter-hansen@europarl.europa.eu ph. +40 2618 8749
- Loretta Lau (Curator on exhibition. Director of NGO Dei)
loretta.lau@ngodei.org - ph +44 7923 951278
- Dr. Eric Wear, former HK President of Int.nat. Association of Art Critics (AICA), ericottowear@mac.com
- Samuel M Chu (moderator on Censorship debate), Campaign for Hong Kong samuel@hkcampaign.org Phone +1 626 589 1330
Participants in exhibition & debates
Here is a quick teaser
Here is a teaser about the groundbreaking event we are hosting in the EU Parliament between March 19th and 21st, 2024.
EU Parliamentarian Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens) is hosting this controversial China event in Brussels, supported by members from virtually all groups.
What happens:
- We display the sculpture ‘The Pillar of Shame’, China's No. 1 object of hate, in front of the parliament.
- We display a large outdoor exhibition featuring China-critical artworks banned by China.
- Debates inside the parliament focusing on two critical issues: (more info + registration for debates )
- 1. China's abuses against its own population and the persecution of those who have fled to the West, including offering million-dollar bounties for selected dissidents.
- 2. Western-owned art auction houses' responsibility in assisting China in imposing extensive art censorship in Hong Kong. We ask: Can we accept them acting as collaborators in a totalitarian Chinese assault on human rights in Hong Kong?
We have invited debaters, experts, dissidents, and artists from around the world to participate in discussions, providing unique personal insights into the situation. We have also invited China's ambassadors in Denmark and Belgium to join the debate
We have sent invitations to the most powerful art houses with branches in Hong Kong, inviting them to a meeting in parliament to explain their stance on taking social responsibility in the countries where they operate (CSR).
With EU debates, we spark the discussion on the Western art market's complicity in undermining freedom of speech and human rights in Hong Kong. Can the auction houses withstand continuing their political art censorship in Hong Kong, or will pressure force them to adhere to Western values and refuse to participate in political art censorship in Hong Kong?
We demand that they actively use their economic influence in the fight against art censorship; for the sake of their artists, themselves, and to champion Hong Kong's basic right to freedom of speech.
What makes Hong Kong's art market unique is that the world's largest Western auction houses completely dominate and set the tone in this market. This dominance is economically advantageous, but it also has a significant downside if they acquiesce and participate in China's attempts to impose art censorship and severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
We hold them accountable for aiding China in imposing the rules of totalitarian rule in the city, directly contradicting the values one would expect from a Western-owned company (CSR). If the companies refuse to stand against art censorship, they will be very vulnerable to a PR disaster. A disaster that will be greatly amplified by the unique character of the art world as a conveyer of image-building products
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The possibility of a Collapse in the Art Market: The Art houses face serious problems if China deploys the police and legal system to assert that Hong Kong is part of China and that Hong Kong must abide by Chinas rules. If Hong Kong ends up issuing a direct ban on selling, exhibiting, and promoting China-critical art, the conflict may escalate to the point where the international art market may have to cease all activities in the city and move the entire art market to another country. A collapse in one of the most crucial financial markets in Asia may become a reality. Part of this scenario is already a reality today, as subversive activities abroad (e.g. China critical art exhibition in Europe) can be punished in Hong Kong See elaboration Eric Wear (AICAs) explanation on this
Staying and imposing China's censorship cannot be an option for Western companies that thrive on providing cultural capital and image enhancement for their clients.
The EU event is just the starting point. We may be optimistic in believing that good will prevail, and we know it can be an uphill battle. Therefore, we will work to exert global pressure on auction houses to make them refuse to participate in censorship of speech and art in Hong Kong. There are many, dedicated people, that are concerned to see China’s totalitarian system gaining significant influence in the world. We plan to engage these good people to put spotlight on censorship of art and freedom of speech. Some of these people will also participate in the debates in the EU Parliament.
It has succeeded before in stopping and influencing the art industry. Recent examples include:
- Another example could be Nan Goldin (USA) and other artists' actions to persuade museums to reject sponsorships from the Sackler family, whose pharmaceutical companies were implicated in the opioid crisis in the USA.
It might be naive, and we may not stand a chance, but we are taking it.
Best regards,
Jens Galschiøt, the artist behind "The Pillar of Shame"
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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.
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9 meter tall banner litographs
Galschiot and former prime minister and Nato General Secretary Anders Fogh
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