Nadia Plesner: 'It's time for an intervention and you are all invited'

My latest work, Darfurnica, is a modern version of Picasso’s Guernica. In our time, the boundaries between the editorial and advertising departments in the media are disappearing and entertainment stories about the lives of Hollywood celebrities have become breaking news. Apparantly a genocide in Darfur can be happening RIGHT NOW without being important enough to make headlines. This is unacceptable and I refuse to turn the blind eye to what is happening.

In Darfurnica I have mixed some of the horrible stories I have learned about Darfur over the past years with some of the Hollywood gossip stories which made headlines during the same time period.

In collaboration with ARTMANIPULATOR, my first solo exhibition, INTERVENTION, took place in the Odd fellow Palace in Copenhagen from January 7th until February 4th, 2011. It consisted of Darfurnica and FORBES/DARFUR, a series of drawn portraits of the most and least influential people in 2009. The most influential are based on the list “Forbes 100″ and the least influential are portraits of children in Darfur. The show was opened by the Danish Culture Minister, Per Stig Møller, and was greatly visited, both at the opening day and throughout the month.

AND NOW LOUIS VUITTON HAS SUED ME AGAIN

As I returned to Holland in the beginning of February, I had received a verdict in a new court case started by Louis Vuitton. They are very angry about the bag that the boy in the middle is carrying. They claim again that I infringe their design rights on the pattern used in their “audra” bag and they had the court in Hague put 5000 euro penalties for each day I continue to show this painting on my website or in galleries or anywhere else. They have been counting since January 28, so at the moment the amount is higher than 220.000 euros (!)

Here you can read an English translation of the Court Order

I only heard about this lawsuit when I received the verdict; I have therefore not been able to defend myself. This seems a clear violation of my freedom of speech and artistic freedom.
I have spent the past month searching for an attorney and I am now blessed to have the help from Jens van den Brink and Christien Wildeman from the lawfirm Kennedy Van der Laan.
They have kindly agreed to start helping me but I need to find funds to defend myself and enable me to fend off fines Louis Vuitton may claim.

PLEASE HELP ME RAISE FUNDS TO DEFEND MYSELF

Any donations can be transferred to this Dutch account:

R.M. Keesom
Account nr: 1057.26.818
BIC/SWIFT code: RABONL2U
Iban nr: NL02RABO0105726818

OR

to this Danish account:

M. Engelbrecht
Reg. nr: 3306
Account nr: 4083473037
BIC/SWIFT code: DABADKKK
Iban nr: DK9030004083473037

Please note, the accounts are not in my own name as I can risk to have my accounts seized by Louis Vuitton.

THANK YOU!

In a few weeks we plan to start summary proceedings against LV to try to have the order lifted.
I can’t believe that our world has come to a place where protection of design and copyrights apparently is more important than protection of human rights.
According to The Save Darfur Coalition, the last bombings of villages in Darfur took place no less than a few weeks ago, and 45.000 new refugees arrived in the Zamzam IDP Camp.
However – this is not something you hear in the media at all.

The story about Darfur must be told, and I believe I should have my artistic freedom of speech to do so.

Via 

HERE