Furious over unions allegedly demanding exorbitant rates to load some of his works onto a truck, an American artist, who showcased his works in the Kochi-Muziris Biennale show, destroyed a few of them.
The incident which occured on March 31 came to light after Waswo X Waswo, now settled in Rajasthan, uploaded visuals of him on the social media destroying some terracota sculptures, irked at the huge amount sought by the unions to load around 30 boxes.
"The unions basically function as mobs, surrounding a truck and refusing anyone to load or unload until their demands are met, asking as much as Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000. Intimidation and threats of violence and property damage are employed," he claimed in the video.
Waswo said the only way he could get the unions to even start a negotiation was by threatening to destroy his works rather than ship it.
Saying that the video showed destruction of part of the installations, he said it thankfully started a process of negotiation and an eventual agreement on more equitable terms.
"The Biennale was a special target for the unions, who demanded as much as 20 times the regular rates. What is this exploitation of art? And how does the media feed a notion that artists make crores of rupees with each artwork they produce?" he asked.
Officials associated with Biennale, which concluded last month, said Waswo X Waswo installations were exhibited at a show connected with the Biennale.
He had about 30 boxes to be loaded on a truck and unions demanded about Rs 10,000 for six boxes. They later scaled down their demand to Rs 5,000 per six boxes, they said.
