From Chocolate to Palette, Freedom Floats in Assange
One Sunday morning, I was traversing along the Botanical Garden, the lively branches catering for an orchestra of singing birds. The road was fit for Eden, leading to the great Pantheon of Australia, towering before me: the Art Gallery of NSW. Shadowed by the gallery, its architectural beauty was conspicuous. Sandstone pillars and an ascending staircase were accompanied by the many notable artists of the past centuries. Cold wind and a mint scent greeted me as I strided in.
The Art Gallery of NSW was a Midgardian Valhalla. Everywhere I go, fascination follows. I found the Archibald Portrait Prize, the most prestigious Australian art competition, quite hard to leave. Unique paintings, all outstanding in their own way. Nevertheless, a hot-air balloon with the balloon taking the form of a controversial symbolist's head flashed at me among 56 others. Julian Assange was released in A spangled symbolist portrait of Julian Assange floating in reflection, leaving me to ponder on this strange meeting.
Left to Right: ME standing next to A spangled symbolist portrait of Julian Assange floating in reflection, Heein (My second brother) posing next to A spangled symbolist portrait of Julian Assange floating in reflection.
Tom Cruise specialises in infiltrating databases, tricking guards, and hanging from ropes to reach consoles to steal confidential plans. However, we can count on Julian Assange to do this remotely on his computer. Before his endeavours, he was a successful writer, that is, until his talent was recruited into the hacking family. He decrypted the Pentagon and NASA's restricted files at a young age. In his heart, though, everyone deserves the truth. He set his eyes on undermining major false claims; I see him as a contemporary Karl Marx. In 2006, after being convicted of hacking and ‘liberating’ illegal documents, he launched Wikileaks. Assange's most accomplished and regrettable work is Collateral Murder. Showcasing the deaths of 8 innocent civilians by US Apaches, this prompted the astonished world to question the government's credibility. Unamused, the US Government sentenced Assange to 12 years and 2 months behind bars, never publicly seen until the Archibald entries opened. This was the beginning of the end for Assange's misery.
Step 1. Get a Kinder Bueno Step 2. Melt the chocolate in your hands Step 3. Start to sketch on the paper with your melted chocolate. The melted chocolate will act as ink and a pen Step 4. To create dark blotches and depth, use your chocolate coated fingers and press them in your desired section.
Left: My sketch of my brother Heein Right: My brother Heein's sketch of an Apache.
While Assange was in prison, a media civil war was waging regarding his arrest. Shaun Gladwell, a famous Australian painter, hailed Assange, wishing to paint him for the Archibald. The competition had a ruleset: the painter had to meet the sitter in reality. Nonetheless, the prison confiscated all items including drawing utensils. The painting was on the brink of extinction when a lightbulb lit Gladwell's head up: small money was allowed. Gladwell bought chocolate at the prison canteen. Using his change of 5 pounds and a Kinder's Beuno utilised as a chalk, Galdwell made a draft of Assange. He melted the chocolate in his hands and scraped the chocolate on the note. He then smuggled it out under the eyes of 5 correction officers. (Astounded, I attempted to make a chocolate sketch of my screaming brother with a Kinder Bueno.) From banknote to canvas, the scrutinisation of the portrait is intriguing.
Upon a further glance beyond the canvas of A spangled symbolist portrait of Julian Assange floating in reflection, I realised that there was more to this than the balloon. Peace, murder, and harmony all make up this artwork. Two doves with roses in their beaks carry peace. Murder is stabbed onto the painting by a shooting Apache from Collateral Murder. Harmony is conveyed by a human chorus in white braiding a hot-air balloon. This aircraft is extraordinary, though, as the balloon itself is Assange's head, his mouth gagged by the Star Spangled banner. A 5 pound note is pounded onto Assange's left cheek. Desaturated yellow spangles are littered across the painting, evoking the American flag. The cockpit contains Shaun Gladwell flying the balloon up the sky, with a 7 emblazoned on the basket. The 7 long years in the US Ecuador prison, punishment for speaking the truth. The most appealing feature is yet to be revealed. The overall shadow cloaking everything emulating the iconic helmet worn by a bushranger: Ned Kelly.
Synonymous with a modern French Revolution, Assange risked his own life for the world's uncovered truth and its beloved inhabitants. Assange's portrait summarises this. A balloon floating towards heaven matches the scent of freedom. As for Assange, we were none the wiser. After 12 years, he is no longer a captive, but a man of truth once more: if only people like Assange were ubiquitous.
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