By Martin Banks - 15th January 2009
I apologise to my own government for deliberately misleading them
David Cerny
Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra has apologised for a controversial art exhibition that portrays crude national stereotypes – with Bulgaria shown as a squat toilet.
The artist behind the sculpture, David Cerny, also apologised, saying he never expected it to be taken seriously.
Speaking at the opening of the Entropa exhibition at the main EU council building in Brussels on Thursday, Vondra he could understand those who felt offended by the exhibition and those who had been “unintentionally misled” by it.
Mounting some form of display is customary when taking on the rotating EU presidency but normally they are uncontroversial.
Cerny admitted on Tuesday that he had deceived EU officials with the exhibition by making it with his friends instead of artists from the 27 countries.
Vondra today told journalists that discovering this had come as an “unpleasant shock” but he insisted the huge installation should not be taken as the Czech presidency’s “vision” of the EU or any of its member states.
Standing in front of the exhibition, he said, “I consider this to be just art, nothing more and nothing less. It is not how the Czech Republic sees the world.”
Cerny, who has a long history of controversial projects, said, “It is an art project, not a political statement. It pokes fun at others but also ourselves as artists.”
He apologised to the Bulgarian government which, he said, had “unfortunately misunderstood” his intentions.
“I also apologise to my own government for deliberately misleading them,” he said.
He said that the money made available by the Czech government for the project and had not been used and would be repaid.
“I seriously expected it would be seen as a joke and art and nothing else. I don’t feel like a winner today if we are going to have to take bits of it down.”
Tomas Pospiszyl, who also worked on the project, said, “It is satire, a caricature and we did not set out to insult individuals or nations.”
The Bulgarian ambassador had sent letters to the Czech EU presidency and EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana demanding that the 16-square metre installation be pulled down before today’s public opening.
The Czech ambassador to Bulgaria was also reportedly hauled into the foreign ministry in Sofia on Tuesday over the matter.
Pospiszyl said, “If we are asked to remove the sculpture on Bulgaria we will do so. That would only be fair.”
In Entropa, the map of Poland is shown with Catholic clergy erecting the rainbow flag of the gay community in the style of a famous photo of US troops raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo Jima in WW2.
The Netherlands is presented totally flooded with water with just the minarets of mosques visible and Italy is transformed into a giant football pitch with players holding strategically-placed footballs.
According to the installation, France has gone on strike and Spain's construction industry has concreted the entire country.
Britain is completely absent from the work with Pospiszyl saying this would remain the case whether or not the map of Bulgaria is removed.
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