Milan’s iconic papier-mâché whale installation, welcoming visitors to the Triennale di Milano, has been reduced to ashes in an arson attack, mirroring the 2023 destruction of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s “Venus of the Rags” in Naples. Only the blue whale’s metal skeleton and a fragment of fin, bearing traces of blue and white, remain after the deliberate fire.
The artwork by Jacopo Allegrucci, created for the 24th International Exhibition titled ‘Inequalities’, was destroyed by flames allegedly set by a 33-year-old homeless Egyptian national, subsequently arrested on arson charges. The motive remains unknown. Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli condemned the act as “vile and senseless,” stating it struck “not only a work of extraordinary symbolic power, but also culture, creative freedom, and the civil conscience of our country.”
This incident recalls the burning of Pistoletto’s monumental 1967 masterpiece replica in Naples last summer, which also led to the arrest of a 32-year-old homeless man and widespread outrage.
Stefano Boeri, President of the Triennale, expressed “sadness, bitterness, and also concern,” linking the violence to broader societal issues. “It is a shame such acts target a work that confronts the fragility of living species on our planet and denounces their risk of extinction,” he stated.
Located at the Triennale entrance, the whale was part of Allegrucci’s series of monumental papier-mâché endangered animals for ‘Inequalities’. It was to be replaced today by an elephant from Kenya, followed by a giraffe and hippopotamus – all species threatened by climate change. The whale itself was destined for relocation to Milan’s wholesale fish market.
Allegrucci, renowned for large papier-mâché carnival sculptures in Viareggio, stated “obtuse human violence” had struck an artwork “intended to denounce the fragility of species on the brink of extinction.” While expecting some vandalism, “fire was unforeseen; I anticipated maybe some graffiti.” He emphasized the tragic irony: the sculpture, made from fragile paper symbolizing ecological vulnerability, was designed to disintegrate slowly with weather and climate change, “with rain and sun.” Instead, fire consumed it in moments.