Thursday 22 March 2007

Theo van Gogh gets a statue





























A sculpture entitled The Scream was unveiled in the Ooster Park in Amsterdam Sunday as a tribute to filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was killed by a religious extremist three years ago. Created by Jeroen Henneman, the stainless steel sculpture depicts a face with its mouth closed morphing into one that is screaming. It is meant to portray freedom of expression and how the filmmaker's voice was silenced.

Mohammed Bouyeri, a Dutch-Moroccan citizen, ambushed Van Gogh on an Amsterdam street and then shot, stabbed and slit his throat. Bouyeri then thrust a manifesto into the filmmaker's chest on the point of his knife. Bouyeri was sentenced to life in prison for killing Van Gogh, whose great-grandfather was the brother of the famed Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh.

I always pass the Ooster Park on my way from home to the city. I have fond memories of the park: it is one of the two parks where I have had sex. A few years ago on a balmy summer night with SA. I like the statue and should have a look at it soon.

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