Anything to say, a monument to courage: public art with a powerful message honouring freedom, transparency and the importance of whistleblowers
Explore the stories behind this thought-provoking sculpture, and learn why it is resonating with audiences worldwide. Featuring Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and you.
- Originally published in ARTists I like on 31 Aug 2015
- Republished on substack in Mindful Soul Center magazine 16 Mar 2023
Back in 2015, Davide Dormino’s interactive sculpture, Anything to say? was exhibited at the public square Alexanderplatz in Berlin. There was much ado about this project initially. In the first two years, it travelled around Europe mostly. However, over the seven years following, it would only travel to a handful of countries around the world. Then, this month, March 2023, it made its way to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. So it seemed like a good time to revisit this interactive public art project about freedom, transparency and accountability.
Anything to say? Monument to Courage is the brainchild of Davide Dormino and Charles Glass. Dormino, an Italian artist, who executed the sculptures. His collaborator, Charles Glass a journalist is as Dormino says, the man behind the idea.
The Work: Anything to Say, Monument to Courage
Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden and you are the subjects of the work. Yes, you, at least the implied you. Because the creators are wondering, do you have anything to say? Besides the grand gesture of creating statues and creating political art of what some may consider controversial figures, he uses chairs. Each figure is standing on a chair and then there is an empty chair for you. The chair isn’t some early 20th-century idea of art as an object but a symbol. When you stand on the fourth chair, you become the art.
He speaks about it in the following passage –
“Art can be political. I believe in acts. The chair has a double meaning. It can be comfortable, but it can also be a pedestal to rise higher, to get a better view, to learn more. They all chose to get up on the chairs of courage. They made their move in spite of becoming visible and thus judged. Many think they are traitors and terrorists. History never had a positive opinion of contemporary revolutionaries. You need courage to act, to stand up on that empty chair even if it hurts.”
Yes, there is craftsmanship and technique and the sculptures are interesting to look at but it is the idea AND the presentation that elevates the work. All of the subjects portrayed in Anything to say a monument to courage are challenging how we are as a collective operating through data and technology and all of them have brought to light some harsh truths.
Traitors, terrorists or truth-tellers?
At the time of the artwork’s original display, it seemed strange to me that some people thought the subjects of the work Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and [you] did something wrong. I still find it odd since it takes tremendous courage and self-sacrifice to be a whistleblower. The stakes are high when you decide to do the right thing. Whistleblowers are frequently punished and risk losing their livelihoods, being ostracised, and even risking their lives. Most of the consequences are negative. They can include:
- Legal action ranges from lawsuits to criminal charges.
- Retaliation from their employers (workplace discrimination, termination, demotion, harassment).
- Social isolation or ostracism from colleagues, friends, or family members. Are you a hero or a traitor?
- Emotional distress from these negative consequences (anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder).
- Economic hardship (loss of income, legal fees, etc.)
- Loss of credibility and reputation, as they may be seen as disloyal or untrustworthy by some members of the public.
Manning
Chelsea Manning, a data analyst in the Iraq war was placed in isolation for 59 days in Kuwait. Later she was court-marshalled and faced the harshest prison sentence in US history for a whistleblower after leaking more than 700,000 classified documents to WikiLeaks in 2010. The leak included the explosive Collateral Murder video in which the US military lied about the incident publicly and tried to cover it up. She was released after seven years and then later imprisoned again for another year and a half. Manning is a trans which is irrelevant mostly except the sculpture was made during a time of transition.
Assange
Julian Assange is incarcerated in His Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh in London, England. Continuing appeals have delayed his extradition to the US. The charges against him are for espionage and computer misuse over the publication of the Chelsea Manning leak. Publication of information continued for years following. Wikileaks published the Guantanamo Bay file leak with hundreds of classified reports on detainees. It also revealed coerced confessions, some from mentally disabled individuals and even children. In addition, more classified intelligence would continue to be published, including the Syria Files, Kissinger Cables, United States National Archives, Saudi Arabian documents, and the Yemen Files.
In 2022, Assange’s extradition was approved. However, he has not been extradited yet. Unlike the UK, Russia has refused to comply with the extradition request for Edward Snowden.
Snowden
Edward Snowden disclosed classified information to journalists from The Guardian and The Washington Post, revealing extensive surveillance programs conducted by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and other government agencies. He was charged with espionage and theft of government property after making public the actions of the NSA and its illegal surveillance program. Snowden fled the United States before the charges were formally filed, and he has been living in Russia since June 2013.
You
Many whistleblowers strongly believe their actions will benefit the greater good and that the benefits of exposing wrongdoing or unethical behaviour outweigh the risks to them wanting to stand by the principles they defend. Given the consequences and risk, would you say anything? That really is what Dormino and Glass are asking here.
“Nobody makes a greater mistake than he who does nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke
Duped?
When startling truths are revealed publicly, we can feel duped or even stupid. People do not like to feel duped by institutions. It hurts to find out that we were lied to by people and institutions that we rely on to do what is ethical and right. Learning that your government was or is acting outside of the law or even lying to the public through omission, it is hard to take. We might learn that studies were repressed or doctored to provide false data leading us to believe some products are safe when they are not – instead, causing cancer or other illnesses to individuals or whole communities where they are manufactured. We place our trust in these systems and institutions which are led by humans that can easily be corrupted or act unethically.
Unfortunately, even when presented with real information, facts, or video footage that shows the whistleblower is a truth teller people can deny the truth. Group loyalty, cognitive dissonance, and confirmation bias are some ways we hold onto falsehoods or are persuaded otherwise. People may reject the information presented by a whistleblower if it challenges their existing beliefs or values, or if it threatens their sense of identity or belonging to a particular group. They may also be influenced by social and political factors, such as media bias, government propaganda, or cultural norms that discourage dissent.
Additionally, people may be more likely to accept information that confirms their existing beliefs and values, while rejecting information that contradicts them (confirmation bias) making it difficult for people to change their minds, even when presented with strong evidence.
In the case of the WikiLeaks Collateral Murder video footage, some people may have been in denial of the truth because it challenged their beliefs about the military, the war in Iraq, or the role of the United States in global affairs. Others may have been influenced by media narratives that portrayed Assange and WikiLeaks as unpatriotic or anti-American.
Overcoming denial and accepting the truth can be a difficult and complex process, requiring a willingness to question one’s beliefs and values, and to engage with information and perspectives that challenge them. This is why whistleblowers play a crucial role in promoting transparency and accountability, even in the face of denial and resistance.
“[T]he only title in our democracy superior to that of President [is] the title of citizen.”
– Louis Brandeis, 1937
Whistleblowing can help promote transparency and accountability in organisations and institutions, by exposing unethical or illegal practices that might otherwise be hidden from public view. It can help prevent harm to individuals, the environment, or society more broadly, by exposing dangerous or unethical practices. It can encourage ethical behaviour by holding wrongdoers accountable for their actions, and by sending a message that unethical behaviour will not be tolerated. Although in many instances, no one is prosecuted – that Collateral Murder video, Manning is the only person linked with the incident to go to prison even though she is the one who brought the truth to the public. Whistleblowing can help strengthen democratic institutions and processes, by promoting transparency, accountability, and public trust.
Whistleblowers who report corruption or unethical behaviour play an important role in society by promoting ethical behaviour, and protecting individuals and the whole from harm. They need legal protections, support and other protections to prevent retaliation and ensure their safety. Without them, democratic institutions are weakened.
Share your thoughts in chat or in our comment section on substack. Small actions mean a lot, please help others find this article by sharing it and tapping on the ❤ button.Small publications like this benefit by such actions – this has a huge impact.
If you like this article and want to support this work, please share it with others or consider becoming a paid subscriber. You can also purchase one of my books on Amazon here or Lulu here.
Before I get to links and notes, I have a brief note. It has been quiet here due to some technical difficulties on Substack’s platform with this account. My apologies, although I have many things to share, I don’t want to flood your inbox. The good news is that it seems like they have fully restored subscribers and fixed the issue. If you have any problems using mindfulsoulcenter.substack.com, please do not hesitate to contact me directly at amy@themindfulsoulcenter.com or simply reply to this email.
Some notes and references:
Davide Dormino, Italian Sculptor: You can look at his art on his site.
News about the work from 2015
A video from the original unveiling in Berlin