A French artist has vowed to destroy a collection of 16 masterpieces worth $45 million if Julian Assange dies in prison.
The art collection includes pieces from Pablo Picasso, Rembrandt, and Andy Warhol, which had been donated to artist Andrei Molodkin.
Molodkin has now placed the valuable art in a 29-ton safe, connected to two barrels, one containing acid powder and the other containing an accelerator for a project titled "Dead Man's Switch." The Russian dissident says pieces by Picasso, Rembrandt, Warhol, Jasper Johns, Jannis Kounellis, Robert Rauschenberg, Sarah Lucas, Santiago Sierra, Jake Chapman, and Molodkin himself are inside the safe
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 13, 2024
The artist has not revealed which artworks are inside the safe. He did say that there are paintings by Picasso, Rembrandt, Warhol, Jasper Johns, Jannis Kounellis, Robert Rauschenberg, Sarah Lucas, Santiago Sierra, Jake Chapman, and his own, among the at-risk masterpieces.
Molodkin told Sky News, "In our catastrophic time - when we have so many wars - to destroy art is much more taboo than to destroy the life of a person.
"Since Julian Assange has been in prison... freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom of information has started to be more and more repressed. I have this feeling very strongly now." Why is he doing this?
Molodkin started the project to bring attention to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s imprisonment. pic.twitter.com/RYMLxXWblD
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 13, 2024
"I believe if something happened and we erased some masterpiece, it will be erased from history - nobody will know which kind of piece it was," he says. "We have all the documentation and we photographed all of them."
The safe is currently at Molodkin's studio, but he plans to move it to a museum.
Every 24 hours, the artist will confirm with someone close to Assange that he is still alive, and a timer to release the corrosive materials will reset.
The art will only be returned to the owners if Assange is released from prison.
Sky News reports:If Assange is released from prison, the works of art will be returned to their owners, Molodkin adds.
He admits "many collectors are really scared" about the acid going off accidentally but insists the work has been done "very professionally".
Molodkin says he would feel "no emotion" if the art was destroyed because "freedom is much more important."
Giampaolo Abbondio, who owns an art gallery in Milan, says he has provided the Picasso artwork for the safe and has signed a non-disclosure agreement preventing him from revealing which one.
He said his first response when he was asked to take part was: "No way", but he was convinced by Molodkin, who he has known since 2008.
"It got me round to the idea that it's more relevant for the world to have one Assange than an extra Picasso, so I decided to accept," Mr Abbondio told the news outlet.
Julian Assange has been held at Belmarsh prison in London since April 2019 as the US government works to extradite him. He is currently facing charges under the Espionage Act for publishing the Iraq and Afghan War Logs.
If convicted, Assange could face a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison for publishing the leaked materials.
