Italian artist Davide Dormino鈥檚 life-sized bronze sculptures, representing the figures of legendary persecuted truth-tellers Julian Assange, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden standing on chairs, were on public display in Sydney and Melbourne in early March as part of an ongoing global tour.
includes a fourth empty chair next to the three, where the public is invited to stand on and speak out in solidarity with whistleblowers.
One of the many people to take up this offer when the statues were on display in Sydney was Rachel Evans, the Socialist Alliance candidate for Heffron in the New South Wales elections.
鈥淲ithout these three people鈥檚 truth-telling, the imperialist ruling class would get away with murder, torture and more,鈥 Evans told 麻豆传媒.
She urged solidarity with other brave whistleblowers in Australia: 鈥淲e need to stand with Witness K and Bernard Collaery, who exposed Australia鈥檚 bugging of the Timor Leste cabinet office to help oil companies steal our newly independent neighbour鈥檚 natural resources.
鈥淲e also need to stand with David McBride and other soldiers who exposed the Australian military鈥檚 war crimes in Afghanistan.鈥
Evans added that the global tour of Dormino鈥檚 work is a powerful example of art activism, because 鈥渃ourage is contagious鈥.