Pillar of Shame, a sculpture by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt memorialising and honouring the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, was pulled down last December from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), where it stood for almost 25 years. This was seen as Hong Kong’s clampdown on freedom and dissent, which has been active for a while now.
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Following the removal of the sculpture, the much-acclaimed artist had said he hopes to reclaim the work and exhibit it elsewhere. “It’s still my property… if we get it, then we’ll (bring) it back to Europe, I’ll put it together and it will take a tour,” Galschiøt had told CNN earlier.
And now, he has unveiled a full-scale replica of Pillar of Shame – an 8-meter-tall (26-foot) sculpture – at the University of Oslo in Norway. “The message is to show the world that we’re still talking about Hong Kong, we won’t forget Hong Kong and we won’t forget what China is doing in Hong Kong,” he said.
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PremiumAccording to a CNN report, the new sculpture is coordinated by Amnesty International and the non-profit organisation Hong Kong Committee in Norway. It will be on display in the university’s garden for almost a month. On June 4, a commemorative event will mark 33 years of the violent military crackdown in Tiananmen Square.
On June 4, 1989, the People’s Liberation Army had opened fire on student protestors who had been protesting since mid-April against corruption, unemployment, inflation, etc. The statue shows 50 bodies — with anguish-ridden faces — piled up together commemorating unarmed student protestors who were killed during the violent attack.
Galschiøt added that he is still attempting to recover the original sculpture from Hong Kong and is unsure about its current condition.
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