A French-American artist has raised eyebrows across Germany after a three-meter bronze statue which immortalizes drug dealers appeared in a Berlin park.
Artist Scott Holmquist set up his “Last Hero” sculpture on Sunday in Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg. Known nationwide as the “drug park,” the memorial stood for 24 hours, as agreed with the city.
Holmquist, who produces expressions of “complete depravity” according to his Twitter bio, said the piece was designed to reflect “solidarity and human rights for all - including for dealers.”
“It's about how the reactions to park drug dealers crystallize fears, temptations, and desires, and at the same time shift the boundaries of control and solidarity,” Holmquist told B.Z.
The art installation was reportedly a response to a demonstration held by the far-right group PEGIDA in Munich three weeks ago, in which the extremists were protected by a police escort as they occupied the park for 24 hours.
“Where the rule of law surrenders, it deals unashamedly,” the anti-immigration Pegida supporters chanted.
It is not the first time the artist has created works immortalizing drug dealers; he produced a similar installation in the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg Museum.
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