It lasted less than twenty-four hours for the new mural The Final Solution by street artist Laika, which appeared in Rome on the night of May 25-26(here to read previous article). The work depicted a kiss between Adolf Hitler and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and had been pasted on a wall adjacent to the Manara High School in the Trastevere neighborhood. Breaking the news of its removal was the artist herself, through a photo posted on her social channels, accompanied by a photograph of the now bare wall and a brief comment “They got the message.”
The work, made with the sticker technique, a modality that allows rapid posting on urban surfaces, staged an image with a strong symbolic impact: in fact, the intention was to compare the massacres planned by the Nazi regime led by Hitler to those that, according to Laika, would be taking place today in Gaza under the direction of the Israeli government.
“We have learned nothing from the past. The end of Gaza will also coincide with our end in terms of democracy and the defense of human rights,” the artist said.
This is not the first time that Laika’s works have been removed or destroyed within hours of their appearance. Only a month ago, on April 28, another of her artworks was vandalized. In that case, the work had been created for April 25 and depicted two women, a 1945 partisan and a contemporary woman, placed in parallel to suggest an ideal continuity between the Italian Resistance and today’s struggles. That mural was also torn down a few hours after it was posted.
In its place, also on the same wall, stickers were applied with the words, “The glory of Israel will not fall.” The mural with the kiss between Hitler and Netanyahu drew mixed reactions on the web, as is often the case with Laika’s works. While the image has been interpreted as a direct provocation against the current Israeli government, it has also raised questions about the line between freedom of expression and incitement to hatred, especially at a time when the Middle East conflict is at the center of international public debate. However, the artist made no additional statement beyond the comment posted on social media. Laika, for her part, therefore chose not to intervene with formal statements, letting the artistic action and its removal speak for themselves.
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| Torn Laika mural featuring Hitler and Netanyahu: "They got the message" |
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