Wiesbaden Biennale Statue of Erdogan Draws Anger

The Wiesbaden Biennale installed a statue by an anonymous artist of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Plaza of German Unity in Wiesbaden on August 27, sparking controversy.This footage was taken on August 28 by Mohammad Salloum. It shows the 4 meter tall, gold-colored statue of the Turkish leader with his right arm raised and finger pointing sky-ward.In the early morning on August 28, someone wrote graffiti using curses on the statue, other pictures on social media showed.The city had not known in advance that the statue would show Erdogan, local news outlets reported.Uwe Eric Laufenberg, director of the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, which is involved with the Biennale said, “Art makes visible what is.”A local judge ruled that the statue could remain standing until the end of the Biennale on September 2. Credit: Mohammad Salloum via Storyful