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Russian-born conceptual artist Andrei Molodkin has threatened to destroy several artistic masterpieces by some of the biggest names in art history if the Wikileaks founder Julian Assange dies in prison.
Molodkin has acquired 16 classic works of art, including famous pieces by Pablo Picasso, Sarah Lucas, Andy Warhol and Rembrandt, with a collective worth in excess of $45million, and he has stored these in a specially designed vault.
The artist claims that the vault is fitted with a ‘Dead Man’s Switch’, which will release a highly corrosive acid that will destroy the precious paintings if Assange dies while incarcerated. Molodkin claims he has the backing of Assange’s wife, Stella.
“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,” he told Sky News.
Molodkin continued: “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.”
Speaking about the specifics of the ‘Dead Man’s Switch’ project, Molodkin explained that while the vault is currently at his studio in the south of France, he aims to move to a museum, where it will be displayed alongside a 24-hour countdown timer that must be reset every day once news reaches them from a source close to Assange that he is still alive and well.
Alongside his own works and collection, many of the pieces contained within the vault have been donated by curators and museums who are sympathetic to the cause after Assange was placed on trial for an expedition to the US, where he may face up to 175 years in prison under the Espionage Act.
When asked about the potential for accidental damage, one donator simply commented: ”Freedom is more important.”
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