The Statue of Freedom, standing on top of the Gellért Hill, Budapest, has a complex and convoluted history. Regardless of arguments, pros and cons, it is an emblem of the capital and probably the most well known public sculpture in Hungary.

As a result of the most recent renovation of the statue and its entire architectural environment called Citadel, a huge cross has been added to the pedestal.

The sign of Christian identity has been inserted into an otherwise secular context as a purposefully symbolic act by the right-wing government that has ruled the country for the recent sixteen years (2010-2026). It was conceived and realized despite the fact that the hill's wide eastern front, overlooking the Danube river, already has a number of clearly visible crosses and a monastery with a chapel as well.

While this drastic modification to the Statue of Freedom was still under construction, I photographed it veiled in scaffolding, as an enigmatic sculptural object embodying contemporary paradoxes of history, ideology, art and society.

2024-2025