Picasso murals removed from Oslo building damaged by Breivik
OSLO: Despite protests, the removal of two murals designed by Pablo Picasso began on Monday from an Oslo government building damaged in right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik’s 2011 attack, a project manager said.
The “Y Block”, a government building complex named for its shape, is scheduled to be demolished to make way for a new government complex buliding.
The building suffered external damage from explosives that Breivik set before going on a shooting rampage, killing a combined 77 people.
On its grey cement walls are two drawings by Picasso that were sandblasted by Norwegian artist Carl Nesjar, who collaborated with the Spanish master painter.
On the facade facing the street, “The Fishermen” depicts three men hauling their oversized catch onto their boat. In the lobby, “The Seagull” shows the bird, its wings spread wide, devouring a fish. On Monday, the works, weighing 250 and 60 tonnes respectively, were enclosed in massive metal supports to be transported away and stored nearby, according to Statsbygg, the public agency in charge of overseeing the demolition.
“The operation is very slow” and should be completed by Thursday or Friday, site manager Pal Weiby told AFP.
The plan is to integrate the works into a new government building scheduled for completion in 2025.