‘Pillar of Shame’ sculptor to ask Denmark to negotiate for artwork’s return

The creator of a sculpture commemorating those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown will ask Danish authorities to negotiate with Hong Kong for its return, with city officials disputing his claims of owning the confiscated artwork.The fate of the “Pillar of Shame” sculpture has come back under the spotlight after the High Court on Friday handed jail sentences to three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China at the end of a high-profile national security trial.In a reply to the South China Morning Post, Danish artist Jens Galschiot said he intended to ask his government to officially declare the eight-metre-tall (26-foot) sculpture a work of art and part of his country’s cultural heritage so it could be returned to “its rightful owner”.