The opposition in Reykjavík city council is against the current location of Spanish artist Santiago Sierra’s monument to the 2009 Pots and Pans Revolution, The Black Cone.
As many know, the work was offered to Iceland earlier this year, and almost immediately caused controversy. While some saw it as a potent symbol of Iceland’s democratic spirit, others criticised what they saw as a symbol of crisis and disunity being placed directly in front of the house of parliament.
DV now reports that the minority in Reykjavík city council is among those who take issue with the monument’s location.
Sóley Tómasdóttir, the Leftist-Green representative on city council, said that she believes that while it is worthwhile to connect art and civil disobedience, she was not particular impressed with Sierra’s take on the connection.
Kjartan Magnússon, from the Independence Party, takes things a step further, saying that the sculpture honours “riots” that occurred in the winter of 2008 and 2009. His interpretation of the protests was that a “democratically elected government was driven from power with violence and threats”, and did not believe that as such it deserves to be honoured.
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