"Britain has "disappeared from the map" of Europe in a controversial European Union sculpture to be unveiled on Monday in Brussels. "Unfortunately the rest of the article ignores Britain completely, bt is still worth a read:
"The Czech Republic, current holders of the EU presidency, has commissioned a large scale "provocation" for the Brussels building of the Council of Ministers which hosts national leaders during summits.
The installation takes the form of a giant jigsaw map representing the "clichés and stereotypes" of each of the EU's 27 member states by different national artists.
Conservative Roman Catholic Poland is depicted by a sculpture of priests raising the rainbow flag of the gay movement, subverting the iconic image of the American soldiers planting the Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima.
France, despite the efforts of President Nicolas Sarkozy to reform its labour laws, is represented by a map of France covered with the inscription "Strike!".
The Netherlands is shown as having sunk beneath the sea in the aftermath of climate change and all that appears above the waves are the minarets of mosques, an explosive reference to the country's high levels of Islamic immigration.
EU officials have expressed concern. "This is very provocative for an official building and does not seem to have been properly discussed in the appropriate forum," said one official.
Alexandr Vondra, the Czech Deputy Prime Minister, has defended the project as a way of confronting prejudice.
"We have given space for the free expression of artists from 27 countries. Art is to arouse emotions and it is provocative sometimes," he said. "
Does anyone have any more information on this story?
No comments:
Post a Comment