“Let there be light”, reads the cover of the Bible held by the bronze hands of Johannes Gutenberg, inventor of the modern printing press, on the famous statue in Place Gutenberg in Strasbourg, France.

Last weekend, however, the monument received a curious addition. A dazzling red sign reads CENSORED above a caption that reads “Art. 13”.

The reference is to controversial proposals to reform EU copyright legislation, seen as limiting online freedom, which the European Parliament adopted on September 12, with 438 MEPs backing the changes, 226 against and 39 abstaining.

A member of Bulgarian art collective, Destructive Creation, which was behind the artistic action, defended the stunt.

“Under the proposed regulations, if Gutenberg was doing now what he was doing in the 15th century, he would be sued for using content that does not belong to him – the Bible, which he reprinted – and would have been censored,” the artist told BIRN.

Like the rest of the crew of Destructive Creation throughout the years, the artist chose to stay anonymous while speaking over the phone to BIRN.

Famous for their politically and socially engaged art performances, the art collective has drawn both praise and controversy over the years in their home country.

Their most famous and disputed work of art was the 2011 spraying of the Soviet Army monument in central Sofia.

Each of the Soviet soldiers on the large relief panel was painted as a comic book superhero or a pop art icon, including Ronald Macdonald, the MacDonald’s clown and Captain America.

“Moving with the times” both angered and entertained many, but ultimatley succeeded in its mission – to provoke public debate on a difficult topic via art. Photo: Destructive Creation.

While many welcomed the colourful performance, better known by its caption, with a black spray reading “Moving with the times”, others saw it as disrespectful to the memories of Soviet soldiers.

Either way, it spurred interest in the topic of socially engaged art in a country where graffiti is considered mostly an act of vandalism.

“We do this kind of art because we choose not to turn a blind eye to the surrounding environment. We accept it as something we should not be ashamed of, it is what it is, with all its problems”, the artist told BIRN.

Another famous installation that showcased Destructive Creation’s engagement with their surroundings was a 2016 installation of a pink wheelchair at an empty pedestal, surrounded by statues of athletes in front of the National Stadium in Sofia.

It both paid respect to the Paralympic Bulgarian athletes while calling attention to the lack of disabled access for physically impaired people.

“We looked at our Soviet Army monument installation and thought that many people could never see it, just because they can’t reach it,” the anonymous artist said.

Their latest installation – the Gutenberg statue project – seeks to reach both an international audience and the Bulgarian Members of the European Parliament before the European Commission proposed directive to regulate copyright in the Digital Single Market goes to a vote.

“When this right turns into a crime, it will amount to censorship,” say Destructive Creation about the attempt of the EU to impose new regulations over internet freedom. Picture: Destructive Creation.

Critics say the proposals will limit people’s ability to actively participate online and will only benefit the business models of large media conglomerates by introducing “Censorship machines” for internet platforms, a “link tax” for news content and a very narrow exception for text and data mining that would ultimately curtail sharing links, uploading media and working with data.

The artists have attracted the attention of at least some Bulgarian MEPs, as the group of 17 representatives was clearly divided between those backing Article 13, or abstaining or voting against it.

“MEP Angel Dzhambazki posted a picture on Facebook with a previous installation of ours that tackled the same subject, adding an approving comment,” the artist noted.

Dzhambazki, like seven other Bulgarian MEPs, voted against the Article 13, which nevertheless ultimately passed this round of the legislative process.

The next phase is closed-door negotiations between the European Parliament and Council and a final vote by the European Parliament that might be postponed until after the 2019 European Elections.

With the Hungary crisis clearly the focus of last week’s European Parliament session, the copyright directive was rather sidelined.

“This is not a popular topic in Bulgaria or beyond. It’s an abstract topic and people don’t understand how somebody can limit their internet use,” the Destructive Creation artist thinks.

The installation aims to remind people that the core idea of the worldwide web, like Gutenberg’s main mission, was to freely share and distribute information, he added.

“When this right turns into a crime, it will amount to censorship,” he concluded.

Read more:

Artists Turn Bulgarian Village Into Open-air Gallery

Sofia Graffiti Fans Mourn Soviet Memorial’s New Look

Painting Monuments Stays in Vogue in Bulgaria