An anti-war sculpture by a Syrian-born artist has provoked protests by far-right supporters in the German city of Dresden.
An anti-war sculpture by a Syrian-born artist has provoked protests by far-right supporters in the German city of Dresden.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The three, upturned passenger buses created by Manaf Halbouni are meant to represent a sniper barricade in Aleppo.
The 32-year-old said the project was supposed to represent “peace, freedom and humanity.”
“There is no other political message. It’s a peace memorial, a modern Statue of Liberty,” he told reporters.
Crowds said to be from the anti-Islamic Pegida movement booed Dresden Mayor Dirk Hilbert as he formally inaugurated the artwork ahead of the yearly memorial of the allied bombing of the city in the Second World War.
Pegida has described the piece as idiotic, an abuse of artistic freedom and an attack on their identity.