Pillar of Shame
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''Pillar of Shame'' is a series of sculptures by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt memorialising the loss of life during specific events or caused by specific circumstances in history. Each sculpture is an tall statue of
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
,
copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
or
concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...
. The first sculpture was inaugurated at the NGO Forum of the FAO summit in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
in 1996. Since then three other pillars have been erected, in Victoria City,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
;
Acteal Acteal is a small village in the municipality of Chenalhó, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 20 km north of San Cristóbal de las Casas San Cristóbal de las Casas (), also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel (), is a town an ...
,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
; and Brasilia,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. A fifth in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
was planned for completion in 2002, but the plan has not come to fruition due to The ''Pillar of Shame'' in Berlin – a Memorial for the Victims of Nazi Terror
Aidoh.dk. Retrieved on 16 November 2010.


Symbolism

According to Galschiøt, the sculptures remind people of a shameful event which must never recur. The torn and twisted bodies of the sculpture symbolize the degradation, devaluation and lack of respect for the individual. The black colour symbolises grief and loss and the sculpture, which represents the victims, expresses the pain and the despair of the event. It can be used by both sides in complicated conflict situations, where it can be difficult to point out the guilty party.


''Pillar of Shame'' in Hong Kong

The ''Pillar of Shame'' () in Hong Kong was a copper sculpture, first erected in
Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...
in 1997 to mark the eighth anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
. The statue depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies to symbolize those who died in the government crackdown. On the base of the statue, the history and pictures of the
massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
are carved in and engraved into the base, in both English and Chinese, are the words "The Tiananmen Massacre", "June 4th 1989" and "The old cannot kill the young forever." The ''Pillar'' was first exhibited at the Candlelight Vigil in commemoration of the eighth anniversary of the
Tiananmen Square protests The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...
on 3 June 1997. Following the vigil on the night of 4 June 1997, local university students fought for a place to permanently home the statue. After scuffles with the police and controversy with the university leadership, at 3 a.m. students succeeded in moving the 2-tonne statue onto the podium of the Haking Wong Building at the
University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...
, however the pieces were not assembled due to concerns that the floor was not strong enough. The ''Pillar'' was re-erected at the same place on 16 June 1997. During the following months, the ''Pillar'' was exhibited at the following universities: * Chinese University of Hong Kong from 28 September 1997 *
Lingnan College Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance since ...
from 2 November 1997 *
Hong Kong Baptist University Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) is a publicly funded tertiary liberal arts education, liberal arts institution with a Christian ethics, Christian education heritage. It was established as Hong Kong Baptist College with the support of Ame ...
from 29 November 1997 * Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 23 January 1998 *
Hong Kong Polytechnic University The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is a public research university located in Hung Hom, Hong Kong near Hung Hom station. The University is one of the eight government-funded degree-granting tertiary institutions in Hong Kong. Founded ...
from 1 March 1998 * City University of Hong Kong from 29 March 1998. On 31 May 1998, the ninth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protests, the sculpture was returned to Victoria Park where a candlelit vigil was held. On the morning before the vigil, a self-professed artist splashed two buckets of red paint onto the ''Pillar'', claiming that "the blood of people is also my blood." On 24 and 25 September 1998,
The Hong Kong University Students' Union The Hong Kong University Students' Union (HKUSU; ) was a students' union in Hong Kong registered under the Societies Ordinance founded in 1912. It was the officially recognized undergraduate students' association of the University of Hong Kong ...
(HKUSU) held a general polling on a motion to home the ''Pillar of Shame'' at the University of Hong Kong on a long-term basis. The students' motion was carried, when 1,629 out of 2,190 voted to support,Lam Wan Rhonda (17 May 1999)
"Students to erect ''Pillar of Shame'' permanently"
''The Standard''
and the ''Pillar'' was moved onto the Haking Wong Podium again on 3 December 1998. It was again exhibited at the 10th anniversary candlelit vigil of the Massacre in 1999 at Victoria Park. Without the university authorities' endorsement, the ''Pillar'' was moved back to the Haking Wong podium after the anniversary, where it has remained on display; a silent tribute is held by HKUSU and the
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China ( zh, link=no, t=香港市民支援愛國民主運動聯合會; abbr. ; ) was a pro-democracy organisation that was established on 21 May 1989 in the then British col ...
in May every year. On 30 April 2008, the ''Pillar of Shame'' was painted orange as part of the project
The Color Orange The Color Orange is an organization established in 2008 by Jens Galschiøt to highlight violations of human rights in China on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Beijing August 2008. The organization uses the colour orange to peacefully bring not ...
, to raise awareness about
human rights in China Human rights in mainland China are periodically reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), on which the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and various foreign governments and h ...
. As the sculptor Galschiøt was denied access to Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China painted the ''Pillar'' without his participation.


Dispute over potential removal in October 2021

In October 2021 the University of Hong Kong, represented by law firm
Mayer Brown Mayer Brown is a global white-shoe law firm, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. It has offices in 27 cities across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, with its largest offices being in Chicago, Washington, D.C., New Y ...
, formally requested that the statue be removed, although they did not cite any specific reason for the request. The university released a statement claiming that the statue belonged to "an external organisation" which had publicly announced its disbandmentreferring to the Hong Kong Alliance and that it had written to the Alliance based on the "latest risk assessment and legal advice" to request the removal. Galschiøt said that he was "shocked" when hearing the news about the potential removal and that he, who considered himself as remaining the owner of the statue, had never been contacted by the university in the matter. He urged HKU to allow the statue to remain, saying that it would help the world to remember the peaceful demonstrators who "were killed for expressing their wishes for political participation". He said that he hoped to "be able to transport the sculpture out of Hong Kong under orderly conditions", and that any damage to the statue would be the university's responsibility. On 15 October, Mayer Brown announced that it would no longer be representing the university in the matter of the statue, while retaining it as a client. The move came days after intense pressure, including by an open letter penned by 28 civil society groups, as well as by overseas intellectuals.


Demolition of the statue in December 2021

According to media accounts in Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong blockaded the ''Pillar of Shame'' and the surrounding area on 22 December 2021. Near midnight, the university sent security guards and workers to the site, prepared trucks with cranes for its demolition, and the security guards blocked journalists from approaching and attempted to stop media outlets filming. By daylight on 23 December 2021, the statue had disappeared. The university stated that the statue would be put into storage, reportedly in Kadoorie Centre. Galschiøt expressed his shock in a public message the same day, referring to Hong Kong as a lawless place and announcing that he would claim compensation if it wasn't returned to him. By 24 December 2021, the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and the
Lingnan University Lingnan University (LN/LU), formerly called Lingnan College, is a public liberal arts university in Hong Kong. It aims to provide students with an education in the liberal arts tradition and has joined the Global Liberal Arts Alliance since ...
had followed suit regarding the 4 June memorials on their campus. Following the removal, Galschiøt received over 40 inquiries about making copies of the statue. He decided to relinquish his right to commercial exclusivity, so that anyone can make a copy, provided that all profits are given to the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement. In May 2022, a replica was installed at the
University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...
, scheduled to be on display for about a month.


Other ''Pillars of Shame''

Other ''Pillars'' have been erected in the following locations: * Ostiense Air Terminal, Rome, Italy, 1996, during the FAO Summit, depicting the deaths caused worldwide by hunger due to the uneven distribution of the world's resources. *
Acteal Acteal is a small village in the municipality of Chenalhó, in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 20 km north of San Cristóbal de las Casas San Cristóbal de las Casas (), also known by its native Tzotzil name, Jovel (), is a town an ...
,
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
, Mexico in 1999, to mark the site of the December 1997 massacre of 45 members of the civil society group
Las Abejas Las Abejas () is a Christian pacifism, Christian pacifist civil society group of Tzotzil, Tzotzil Maya formed in Chenalhó, Chiapas in 1992 following a familial property dispute that left one person killed. When members of the community took the inj ...
in Acteal. * Brasilia, Brazil in 2000 in homage to the victims of the
Eldorado dos Carajás massacre El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
which occurred in 1996. This was moved to
Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
, the capital of
Pará Pará is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian state) ...
, the federal state where the massacre occurred. A fifth ''Pillar of Shame'' was planned in Berlin, Germany, in homage to the victims of the Nazi regime. Due to various problems, the artist had to cancel the project. A pile of over 16,000 shoes, each pair representing a victim of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, is placed in front of the
Brandenburg Gate The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...
in Berlin, Sunday 11 July 2010. The shoes were collected to make ''The Pillar of Shame'' by German activist Phillip Ruch's monument to Srebrenica.VOA , Thousands Mourn Srebrenica Massacre Victims, Criticize UN , News , English
.voanews.com (11 July 2010). Retrieved on 2010-11-16.


Gallery

Image:Pillar of Shame 1.jpg, The original ''Pillar of Shame'' Image:Pillar of Shame in Orange Color @ HKU 35.jpg, Close up of ''Pillar'' Image:Pillar of Shame 2.jpg, English writing on the base Image:Pillar of Shame 3.jpg, Chinese writing on the base meaning "June 4 Massacre" Image:Skamstøtte-skulptur på Rådhuspladsen i København.jpg, ''Pillar of Shame'' sculpture dedicated to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...


See also

* '' My Inner Beast'' *
The Color Orange The Color Orange is an organization established in 2008 by Jens Galschiøt to highlight violations of human rights in China on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Beijing August 2008. The organization uses the colour orange to peacefully bring not ...
* ''Fundamentalism'' (sculpture) * ''In the name of God'' (sculpture)


References


External links


Official information of the ''Pillar of Shame''




{{DEFAULTSORT:Pillar Of Shame 1997 sculptures Sculptures by Jens Galschiøt Sculpture series Outdoor sculptures in Hong Kong Monuments and memorials in Hong Kong Politics of Hong Kong 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre Memorials to victims of communism History of Hong Kong Vandalized works of art Destroyed sculptures