Europe Map EU Council
I was already home after and preparing to make food for the family when a journalist from the Danish daily Politiken phoned and asked if I could take some pictures of a artwork in Justus Lipsius, The European Union Council building.
I rushed back with my camera gear somehow with my head under my arm. There was not much time because of early deadline and the only brief I had was to take pictures of the Danish map made up by Lego’s in different colors so a part of the map showed the Prophet Mohammed.
The Danish map was only a part of a big art installation showing all the 27 EU member-states payed for by the Czech EU Presidency. It showed up that the full artwork was created by David Černý, a Czech artist who was supposed to coordinate the artwork and finding an artist from each of the 27 member countries. Instead he made up the names of the artists and their full CV’s for the catalogue.
The Bulgarians got very upset about the artwork and in particular the part showing Bulgaria as a “Turkish” squat and drop toilet. Diplomatic meetings in Brussels was on the boiling point where Bulgarian diplomats asked their counterparts from the Czech EU Presidency to remove the map of Bulgarian before the opening the day after I took the pictures of the Danish map. It was not done, later a black cloth covered Bulgaria.
What did happen on the night before the inauguration of the artwork was that Lego bricks was added to the Danish map so the Prophet was gone.
The Danish map photographed at the end of the day on 14 January 2009. Photo: © Erik Luntang
- The next morning on the 15th. January the Danish map had changed. During the night more Lego briks had been added so the prophet had gone. Photo: © Erik Luntang