The battle to keep the red King Kong in Sants

BarcelonaThe chest-thumping red King Kong perched on the ledge of an apartment building next to Sants station has been in the sights of Barcelona's urban planning authorities since 2016, when the property's owner bought it and placed it at the top of the facade. It is a piece by French sculptor Richard Orlinski, who has adapted his version of the work. Wild Kong In different colors and sizes, in resin and metal, he has exhibited his enormous figures all over the world. In Barcelona, however, he has run into municipal sanctions, and after nine years, the owner of the Cosmo Apartments has opted to cover up the gorilla, hoping to win the legal battle with the City Council.

At this point, the debate has focused on determining whether the gorilla is a form of advertising for the apartments or whether, as the sculpture's owner's lawyer argues, the author's moral rights should be overridden. For now, the figure has been lowered from the ledge where it stood and, covered with a tarp, is still visible from the street.

The first municipal file on this Wild Kong It opened nine years ago. Municipal sources explain that the owner of the building on Passeig Sant Antoni did not have a license to install what the council defines as an advertising element, which would be a lure to attract more customers to the apartments. The red gorilla also encountered a negative report from the Urban Landscape Institute, which also saw an advertising claim that, furthermore, "caused a visual and landscape impact given its size, color, and location." In this sense, municipal sources recall that the ordinance on urban landscape uses expressly prohibits advertising on the façade and "individual actions that distort the chromaticity, texture, and constructive solutions of buildings or the complex in which they are located."

Over the years, appeals against the City Council's sanctions have failed to get the courts to overturn the fines for displaying the gorilla. In fact, in 2022 the owner of the property removed the sculpture, but last year he replaced it. The council responded with a new file that required the withdrawal of the Wild Kong, and the owner reacted by covering it with the tarp that now covers it. For this latest case, municipal sources indicate, two coercive fines of €600 each have been imposed. However, the accumulated fines since the red gorilla first arrived in Sants exceed €3,000, explains lawyer Mario Sol Muntañola, who currently represents the owner of the building and the sculpture.

"To have an art installation"

In fact, hiring Muntañola, an intellectual property specialist, could change the arguments the owner is using to keep the gorilla in Sants. "It's not an administrative issue, but a civil one, one about copyright," the lawyer explained in an interview with ARA. In his opinion, considering the sculpture an advertising element means "comparing a work of art to a sign, belittling an art installation."

The lawyer is confident the city council will eventually reconsider its position, but already anticipates that, if not, they will file a civil lawsuit for the protection of the copyright holder's moral rights to ensure the gorilla remains in Sants. One of the key arguments the artist uses to keep the sculpture where it was and not elsewhere is that "it was conceived with the intention of being an urban art installation fully integrated into the architectural space and its surroundings."

In a statement, Orlinski explained that all of his creations "aim to engage in dialogue with the urban landscape, provoke emotions in the public, and make art accessible to all." Regarding the location where the gorilla is to reside, he said that the work's specific location, "in direct interaction with the building's structure," is an "essential part" of his artistic approach and the message he wishes to convey with the sculpture. "In this sense, any attempt to obstruct, unjustifiably relocate, or cover up the work constitutes an alteration of its artistic integrity," the artist added.