Some cold November days in 1993, twenty European cities woke up to a surprise. In the centre of the most important square in town, a more than two metres high, black figure of a pig in a man's clothes had appeared. A brass sign announced; My Inner Beast – an animal of the lowest instincts. It grows when human beings are subjected to violence and humiliation, which attack our ethical values and which can completely seize power over man – and in the extreme over whole populations! Do not feed! There it was. Frightening, but also recognizable and apparently human. As if standing in front of a mirror, we were all of a sudden face to face with an unequivocal symbol of the most repulsive sides of the human race. An art happening was taking place.
The 10th anniversary of the happening has now come. Unfortunately, the sculpture has not become less relevant. The question still is how far we are prepared to go to keep our wealth for ourselves. Do we need to build a new Berlin-wall to fortify wealthy Europe against the fugitives of war, the poor and the immigrants? If we do so, are we then still able to make a claim on our ideals of freedom, equality and
brotherhood?
We are now investigating the fate of the Beasts. See more on the Internet www.aidoh.dk
Please help us to find the disappeared sculptures. They have vanished without any trace in Paris, Lyon, Marseilles, Geneva, Zurich, Milan, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels…
We bring two Beasts, 14 Hunger Boys and the great Survival of the Fattest to Paris. The sculptures express the grotesqueness of the world that is ours. The emaciated man is staggering under the weight of the enormous woman (Justitia). The sculpture expresses the double standard of the Western World. We brag about our sense of justice and human rights, and at the same time we refuse to venture into accords to better the conditions of the Third World. The 14 Hunger Boys represent the result: Famine. Every day 30,000 children die of hunger.
Jens Galschiot, born 1954, sculptor. He stakes his art to defend the ethical values of our society, regardless of political, religious or economic interests. His sculptures suddenly appear in public areas and start the performance. Politicians, the press and the public are drawn in as the actors.
Galschiot has often acted as a NGO on international conferences. His sculptural manifestations appear in the public scene. The Pillar of Shame (8 metres) was put up in Hong Kong, Mexico and Brazil as a remembrance of bloody massacres. The Messenger was part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign for debt release.
The happenings are prepared in the artist's several thousand square metres workshop and foundry. The projects are implemented in cooperation with many helpers from Denmark and abroad. They are financed through the sale of bronze sculptures to art
collectors.
To the index page of the Social
Summit in Paris
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More about My Inner Beast
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| 2003: European Social Forum, Paris |