The Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt has written to a Hong Kong court, requesting the return of his sculpture commemorating China’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown that was removed from Hong Kong University in 2021.
The monument with the name Pillar of Shame is an eight metre tall sculpture depicting about 50 twisted and mangled bodies piled on top of one another which represent the loss of life and suffering endured by protesters during the military crackdown.
The request to return the monument follows a national security conviction of a group behind the city’s annual mourning of the incident. Two activists and the group they led, Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China,were found guilty of inciting subversion under Hong Kong’s national security law, which was imposed by Beijing.
The sculpture was among the items seized during the investigation, prompting Galschiøt to formally assert his ownership.
Jens Galschiøt sent a letter to the court in Hong Kong last week, claiming ownership of the sculpture, which he lent to the alliance in 1997 for permanent display in Hong Kong.
“I claim the sculpture and respectfully request that it be returned to me. I do not consent to its confiscation, destruction, disposal, or transfer to any other person or institution,” Jens Galschiøt wrote.
The court has yet to decide what will happen to the sculpture. Prosecutors have asked for the evidence in the case to be destroyed, while Galschiøt is seeking its return to Denmark.
The Pillar of Shame was removed from the University of Hong Kong in December 2021 and later seized by police as part of the national security case. Galschiøt has continued to seek its return, arguing that it remains his private property.
The court’s decision could therefore determine not only the fate of one of Hong Kong’s most recognisable Tiananmen memorials, but also whether the Danish artist will finally be able to bring his work home.
Source: Hong Kong Free Press
