Artist Andrei Molodkin has decided to put $45 million worth of artwork on the line in protest of the imprisonment of Julian Assange. The paintings, including works by Warhol, Rembrandt, and Picasso will be destroyed. if Wikileaks founder Assange dies in prison, British broadcaster Sky News reports.
How Molodkin plans to destroy the paintings is even more dramatic than the actual idea of doing so. He told Sky that the masterpieces, which were donated to him, have been placed into a 29-ton safe that is connected to two barrels; one contains an acid powder, and the other contains an accelerator. If the two components are opened and emptied into the safe, the chemical reaction will destroy all the paintings.
The idea of holding rare artwork hostage seems maliciously selfish. Molodkin even has a name for the plan, labeling it “Dead Man’s Switch.” Assange is currently in a U.K. prison. awaiting his final appeal over extradition to the United States to face charges under the Espionage Act.
Assange was the founder of Wikileaks and is accused of publishing thousands of leaked documents concerning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also is alleged to have conspired with former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to unlawfully obtain and publish classified national security documents that could “cause irreparable injury to the United States or be used to the advantage of a foreign nation,” according to his 2018 federal indictment.
Assange denies any wrongdoing, and his lawyer claims that his life is in danger if he loses his appeal scheduled for the end of this month.
Molodkin is a Russian who now lives in the south of France. He phrased his decision this way to 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.
Molodkin said that he hired what he called “professional hostage negotiators” to help him write a letter to “the President” and the “Secretary of State,” informing them that Assange’s death in prison would precipitate the destruction of invaluable artworks. “I do not want this, and you possess the power to prevent it,” the letter reads. The U.S. State Department and the White House haven’t replied.
The safe will be locked and sealed at Molodkin’s studio on Friday and will eventually be moved to a museum. Molodkin claims that the safe will have a 24-hour timer attached to it that must be reset every day. Otherwise, it will release the contents of the two barrels. He states that each day the timer will be reset only when someone “close to Assange” confirms that he is still alive.
There have been some converts to Molodkin’s plan. Giampaolo Abbondio, a Milan art gallery owner, told Sky News he initially rejected Molodkin’s idea but has now donated a Picasso to the project.
It’s more relevant for the world to have one Assange than an extra Picasso, so I decided to accept Molodkin’s offer to participate. Let’s say I’m an optimist and I’ve lent it. If Assange goes free, I can have it back. Picasso can vary from $10,000 to $100 million, but I don’t think it’s the number of zeros that makes it more relevant when we’re talking about a human life.
Another artist Franko B also donated one of his own pieces. He told Sky News:
I thought it was important that I committed something I care about. I didn’t donate something that I found in the corner of my studio. I donated a piece of work that is very dear to me that talks about freedom and censorship. It’s important. It’s a small gesture compared to what Assange did and what he’s going through.
Assange’s wife Stella told Sky News:
The true targets here are not just Julian Assange but the public’s right to know, and the future of being able to hold power accountable. If democracy wins, the art will be preserved, as will Julian’s life.
No matter what side of the coin you’re on about Assange or Wikileaks, these types of actions don’t solve anything. This isn’t the same as the lunatics who glue themselves to the wall or the ones who try to throw paint or soup on artwork in galleries. If Molodkin goes through with this, the world will be robbed of work created by some of the greatest artists that ever lived.
Personally, I can’t see Molodkin following through on his threats. If he does, artists worldwide will vilify him, and neither democracy nor freedom of speech will be advanced. No matter how you frame it, that’s not a pretty picture.