Highway sign by Jens Galschiøt
In 2019, a 3 × 3 meter brown "Galleri Galschiøt" tourist sign was installed on Funen's E20 motorway, indicating the location of Galleri Galschiøt and recognizing its significant cultural value.
The sign is situated on the highway at Tietgenbyen exit 48. In conjunction with the highway sign, 10 additional signage signs have been placed throughout Odense, guiding visitors towards the gallery.
This may be one of the most innovative and progressive signs on a motorway in Europe.
The sign encapsulates the entirety of Galschiøt's visual universe and elegantly portrays what visitors can experience at Gallery Galschiøt. It features silhouettes of seven of the artist's most renowned and controversial artworks.
Survival of the Fattest - 2012
The original sculpture is made of copper and stands 3 meters tall. It depicts a colossal, overweight Justice Goddess (Justitia) holding her scales, positioned atop a starved man. Her motto reads, "I sit on the back of a man – he is about to collapse under my burden – I will do everything to help him except to step down from his back."
The sculpture serves as a commentary on the concept of justice in the Western world, where there is an abundance of wealth, yet the preaching of democracy, equality, freedom, and brotherhood is not consistently shared with others. .
This powerful artwork can be found in both Ringkøbing and Galschiøt's workshop, and it is one of his most renowned and well-known sculptures.
H. C. Andersen in a queer time - 2012
The original sculpture is 2 meters tall and serves as a sculptural commentary on the academic discussion surrounding the interpretation of H.C. Andersen's works from a queer perspective. The sculpture is composed of two classic sculptures, namely the "Venus de Milo" and Bissen's "H.C. Andersen's portrait" from 1864, and it portrays Andersen's feminine aspects while exploring how he might have reacted in a time when flirting with one's gender identity was not uncommon. The sculpture sparked considerable debate when it was launched in connection with a fundraiser for breast cancer.
The original sculpture is 7x3x10 meters and was made for the climate summit Cop 21 in Paris. It consists of a giant scientific graph about CO2 accumulation over the past 300 years. Speared on the graph is a polar bear hanging at a height of 7 meters. It has, since Paris, been set up in front of the Folketing, at Cop 23, in Bonn and countless other places.
Freedom to Pollute - 2002
Freedom to Pollute is a 6 meter tall Statue of Liberty that sends up pillars of smoke from her torch. In the constitution she holds in her hand, the text was changed to “Freedom to Pollute”. The sculpture has been included in countless art manifestations around the world to put focus on the Western world’s demands for freedom of growth and senseless consumption, no matter what the consequences are for our shared planet.
The pillar of Shame - 1995
The sculpture stands 9 meters tall and serves as a commemoration of massacres and abuses around the world. The initial sculpture marked the Tiananmen Square massacre on June 4, 1989, during which students were killed by the Chinese military and tanks, crushing the hope of democracy and human rights in China.
Over 100,000 participants were present when the sculpture was permanently erected in Hong Kong in 1997, shortly before China's takeover of Hong Kong. It is currently placed at Hong Kong University, safeguarded by 10,000 students. It remains the sole memorial to the massacre on Chinese soil.
I the name of God - 2007
"In the Name of God" is a sculpture depicting a crucified pregnant teenager, standing at 6 feet tall. The sculpture highlights the Catholic Church's implementation of a contraception ban and limitations on sexual education.
The Polish Catholic Pope John Paul II introduced the absurd dogma that God has ordained that sexual intercourse between a man and a woman must always allow for the possibility of pregnancy. Any form of prevention is deemed unacceptable and equated to performing 1000 abortions each time sexual intercourse occurs. This prohibition on contraception is applicable to everyone, both within and outside of marriage, and include all contraceptive methods. It remains in effect for over one billion Catholics worldwide.
The ban on contraception has had catastrophic consequences in numerous countries, making it increasingly difficult for them to access birth control and hinder the transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Teenagers, in particular, have faced higher rates of pregnancy as a result of the ban.
The sculpture has been displayed in front of the cathedral in Copenhagen and has been erected in Kenya, Germany, Brazil, and Nicaragua. It has also been featured in various books on Christianity and sexual education.
‘The Nations Trauma’
The installation of the sculpture resulted in Galschiøt receiving a permanent entry ban in China and being expelled from Hong Kong twice. This year (2019) marks the 30th anniversary of the massacre, and therefore Galschiøt chose, that Pillar of Shame" should be in the centre of the sign to honour the memory of the students.
On the sculpture, one of the most famous Chinese poets Szeto Wah has created a profoundly beautiful calligraphy that reads "The Nation's Trauma." "The Pillar of Shame" has also been erected in Mexico and Brazil.
"My Inner Beast"is a series of 22-ton heavy black concrete sculptures, created by the Danish sculptor Jens Galschiøt in November 1993.
These sculptures depict a pig in human clothing, aiming to highlight the rising violence, intolerance, racism, and persecution of minorities witnessed in Europe in recent years.
In November 1993, the twenty sculptures were installed over a period of 55 hours without the knowledge of the authorities. The sculptures initiated debates in the press and within both public and political circles.
In several locations, the sculptures have found a permanent place as a gift to each city. More than 100 volunteers contributed to the installation.
"Either we share our wealth and create a social and economic balance in Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa, so that the people could have a future in their own countries, or we built a new wall around Europe to keep the others out of our territory"
Galschiøt says, that if we chose the new wall, we would enter into a (new) brutalisation and lo0se the basic principles of European civilization of freedom, equality and brotherhood. The text “Don’t feed your inner beast” is engraved on the sculptures. They are part of a number of art collections and are used in many contexts.
The Original Sculptures
Galschiøt has crafted a series of unique sculptures that have been sold to secure the financing of the motorway sign located along the route from the highway to Odense, as well as for a renovation of the Gallery. The creation of these signs and the gallery refurbishment incurred substantial costs. This prompted us to initiate an art crowdfunding initiative.
Read about the project in danish or engelsk
We cover the expenses for all our major projects ourselves, which grants us an independence that empowers Galleri Galschiøt to openly address and challenge societal norms.
Galleri Galschiøts application
Below is the application that the gallery submitted to the committee overseeing the placement of brown motorway signs. In this document, you can learn why we pursued and ultimately secured the location for the 3x3 meter sign. This application was composed in September 2018, and now, everything is happening!
Throughout 2018, Gallery Galschiøt engaged in discussions with the State Roads Agency and the Municipality of Odense regarding the possibility of having a sign in the public space. Approval for this endeavor was granted in 2019, along with the endorsement of 500 guests in the gallery.
We thank everyone who supported us and made the highway sign possible.
Sofus Markus, psykoterapeut i Odense C
Galleri Galschiøt - Banevænget 22, 5270 Odense, Danmark, Mail: aidoh@aidoh.dk , Tlf: +45 66184058
