Trump Crucified artwork withdrawn from exhibition on security grounds

Gallery reluctant to display Trump on the Cross at Basel Train Station - one suspects the US Embassy also lodged a furious protest 

For security reasons, the controversial artwork "Saint or Sinner," depicting the crucified US president in prison garb, will not be exhibited at Basel Train Station as planned. The Gleis 4 gallery, which rents space there, announced this via Instagram. The sculpture has been sharply criticized by clergy and theologians.

Bishop Hermann Glettler of Innsbruck condemned the artwork in an interview with kath.ch as "simply perverse." "Trump strapped to the cross as the savior or as a martyr in the orange clothes of a prisoner shortly before his execution? Yes, please, is that even possible?!" the 60-year-old priest exclaimed indignantly.

"Colossal miscasting"

Zurich theologian Simon Peng-Keller also described the depiction of Donald Trump on the cross to kath.ch as a "colossal miscasting (...)"

If one wanted to place Donald Trump in the Passion story, his place would not be on the side of the crucified, but rather on that of the representatives of the brutal Roman Empire, who wash their hands of guilt and, in their fortresses and palaces, issue decrees that plunge countless people into poverty, misery, and death."

Has such criticism led the gallery owners to relent and not show the controversial Trump sculpture at Basel train station? At the very least, they now have concerns. Security concerns.

Security risk due to crowds

The expected large crowds and feared disruptions pose too great a security risk, according to the gallery's Instagram account. Gleis4 made this decision itself and not at the request of the SBB, as the gallery wrote in response to an inquiry from the Keystone-SDA news agency.

"We expected a response, but didn't anticipate such great interest," the Instagram post reads. Train stations are not a typical location for art galleries, and this also requires that they neither disrupt the flow of people nor create security risks. The artwork "Saint or Sinner" was supposed to be shown at the "Gleis4" gallery at the Basel train station starting September 6th. The gallery is now actively seeking an alternative exhibition space.

The sculpture by British artist Mason Storm, titled "Saint or Sinner," depicts the US President in an orange prisoner's uniform. He is strapped to a white cross, reminiscent of a pallet used for lethal injection executions.

The Zug gallery Gleis 4 will open a new location in September in the hall of the former brasserie in the west wing of the train station building.

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