I'm not trying to destroy art, says man planning to do just that if Assange dies in jail

[muriel_volestrangler]

I can't work out if this belongs in Weird News, or GD.

But Andrei Molodkin, the Russian dissident artist, has said he does not believe the works by Picasso, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and others, which he will lock away in a safe with a corrosive substance this Friday, will actually be destroyed.
...
Molodkin said he has gathered 16 works of art, which he estimates are collectively worth more than $45m. The works will be locked into a 29-tonne, 13ft by 9ft Swiss safe at Molodkin’s studio in the south of France. They will only be returned to their owners if Assange is released as a free man.
...
He explained that the artwork will be put into plywood crates alongside the “dead man’s switch” – a pneumatic pump connecting two barrels, one with acid powder and the other with an accelerator that could cause a chemical reaction strong enough to turn the safe’s contents to debris within two hours.

Each day will begin a 24-hour countdown that is only reset when someone close to Assange confirms his wellbeing.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/feb/13/im-not-trying-to-destroy-art-says-man-planning-to-do-just-that-if-assange-dies-in-jail

Another report says:

The Russian dissident has refused to reveal which pieces of art are inside the safe but says it includes works by Picasso, Rembrandt, Warhol, Jasper Johns, Jannis Kounellis, Robert Rauschenberg, Sarah Lucas, Santiago Sierra, Jake Chapman, and Molodkin himself, among others.
...
Giampaolo Abbondio, who owns an art gallery in Milan, says he has provided the Picasso artwork for the safe and has signed a non-disclosure agreement preventing him from revealing which one.
...
Artist Franko B says he has provided one of the works which will be kept in the safe.

"It's a beautiful piece... it's one of my best pieces," he told Sky News.

https://news.sky.com/story/acid-to-destroy-masterpieces-by-picasso-rembrandt-and-warhol-if-julian-assange-dies-in-prison-artist-claims-13070078

So the "$45 million" could be BS. Schrodinger's Publicity Stunt?