Statue tributes to whistle-blowers are all the rage right now.
Last month, a group of rogue artists snuck a large bronze bust of Snowden into a Brooklyn park. Now Italian sculptor Davide Dormino has unveiled life-sized statues of Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning.
All three are currently on display in Berlin, but Dormino will soon be taking them on a world tour.
Each statue stood on a chair, with a fourth chair was open to anyone who wanted to speak. Dormino told Deutsche Welle, “It doesn’t matter what you say. You can say whatever you want, anything you want. Children are even standing up here.”
Whistleblowers’ statue in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. “The vacant chair is for *you*!” RT @areasteve pic.twitter.com/iJfOvQGMlf
— @eqe (Andy Isaacson) (@eqe) May 1, 2015
It’s all part of an art project titled “Anything to Say?” Author Charles Grass conceived of the idea.
From a pitch to donors on the project’s website:
[…]
Most statues in public spaces commemorate warriors.
The Dormino statue pays homage to three who said no to war, to the lies that lead to war and to the intrusion into private life that helps to perpetuate war. Manning, Assange and Snowden accepted their loss of freedom. While you remain free, thank them by erecting this reminder that we can refuse to collaborate with unaccountable power.
Watch a video of Dormino fashioning the statues:
(h/t Mashable)
