In the midst of serious conversations about sustainability, a 6-meter-tall, smoking Statue of Liberty will dominate the UN’s ressource conference. The sculptures are far from a tribute — they are loud wake-up calls.
Statue of Liberty: A Symbol of Freedom – and Hypocrisy
The smoking Statue of Liberty, titled Freedom to Pollute, has previously been shown at major UN climate summits in Copenhagen, Paris, and Bonn. She will be smoking throughout the entire conference. With her iconic shape and burning torch, she stands as a harsh commentary on the West’s paradoxical approach to climate action — wanting to save the planet, but not if it costs comfort, consumption, or cheap flights.
Jens Galschiøt says of the exhibition:"It’s courageous of the conference to bring such controversial and critical artworks to the event. But the messages are absolutely necessary if we are to prevent catastrophic, irreversible man-made damage to our societies."
Art With an Edge
Galschiøt’s works are not just art — they are living political interventions that force us to confront our own role in global inequality and climate issues. With smoking statues and weighty symbols, he shines a spotlight on the hypocrisy we’re all part of.
The iconic sculpture has stirred quite a bit of controversy around the world. The artist behind it, Jens Galschiøt, explains: "The sculpture was created in response to former U.S. President George W. Bush choosing to skip a climate summit in 2022 to play golf instead".
Since then, it has taken a controversial, and sometimes comical, victory lap around the globe — like when Copenhagen City Council banned its exhibition for aesthetic reasons."They should never have done that," the artist says, "because suddenly they had to explain to the world’s press why the American symbol of freedom was ‘too ugly’ to be exhibited — and it caused quite an uproar."
The sculpture has been featured in global media, especially during COP23 in Bonn where a ‘Donald Trump’ figure drove around with it, surrounded by sweating ‘polar bears’."In recent years, the U.S. has resumed taking climate responsibility, so the sculpture hasn’t been used as often. But with Trump 2.0, it’s suddenly become very relevant again," Galschiøt remarks.
With closed eyes and scales in hand, the Western goddess of justice, Justitia, proclaims:
I am sitting on the back of a man.
He is sinking under my burden.
I will do anything to help him.
Except step down from his back…
Story&Symbolism: The original sculpture was created in 2002 by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt. He explains:
“In the sculpture, I use the age-old symbols of inequality between rich (the large, well-fed figure) and poor (the starving figure). In my version, it is portrayed as a very large goddess of justice (Justitia) sitting on the back of a very small and thin person — to symbolize the ever-present double standard and hypocrisy. We will do anything to help, unless it is inconvenient for us.”
Link
Contacts:
- Dresden Nexus Conference:
Juliane Dziumla – dziumla@unu.edu - Phone +49 351 79993817
- Artist / Exhibition Inquiries:
Chief of Communications Lasse Markus – Phone/WhatsApp: +45 61703083 / Email: aidoh@aidoh.dk
Artist Jens Galschiøt – Phone/WhatsApp: +45 40447058 / Email: aidoh@aidoh.dk
All the very best wishes,
Jens Galschiøt and the Galleristas
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Take a Virtual Tour around Galschiøt's Gallery with Google Street View
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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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