Statues worth keeping

The debate around whether statues of racists, slave owners, fascists, sexists etc. should be removed from public spaces is once again taking place. I like sculpture, and I love history, but I don't care much for historical statues - especially of the old stale pale male variety. I think tearing down a statue sounds like great fun. But I was also thinking about some of the statues worth keeping...

Get away from me, babies!

First up, who doesn't love the naked-man-fighting-babies statue from Frogner Park, Oslo. It's high up on a plinth giving an array of uh...interesting angles. Definitely Art. This statue should stay.

Over to Prague to visit the Kafka Museum and we are greeting by these two fine fellows pissing into a pool shaped like the Czech Republic. Apparently, the statues write out Kafka quotes with their streams. Entertaining! It can stay.

Next to Vaxjo, Sweden to find the fabulous Danuta Danielsson whacking some marching Nazis with her handbag. Today we argue about whether it's okay to be mean to Nazis - after all, they're just expressing their beliefs THAT MOST OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION SHOULD DIE.


Side note: the young Nazi being whacked in the photo was later convicted of the torture and murder of a Jewish man. What a dickhead.


Danuta Danielsson is a hero of civil morality akin to Tiananmen Square man. This one can definitely stay.

Over to Spain for the politicians debating climate change. This was built in 2014 and sadly still as relevant today. 

Full disclosure: the original piece had nothing to do with climate change per se but this was how viewers around the world interpreted it. Brings up the question around whether art is what the artist intends or what the viewer interprets.

Anyway, these tiny statues should stay until we fix climate change. So forever.

Now back to my humble home of Australia for...

...ah fuck. Captain Cook doing a heil sign. This can get straight in the bin.