Week 23 - 2020

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The small man

In the morning, on the 5th of June 1989, photographer Jeff Widener stands on the hotel balcony looking over the Tiananmen Square, better known as the ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’. It’s the day after the massacre, where the chinese government had shot down a six-week long student revolt calling for democratic reforms and a softer regime. Widener had been assigned by the Associated Press to photograph the aftermath. Widener sees the tanks moving across the square. As he lifts his camera a man, carrying grocery bags, stops in front of the warmachines. The man waves his arms refusing to move.

The tanks tried to drive around the man, but the man continued to move in front of the machines. Widener expected him to be killed, but no shots were fired; apart from those originating from the cameras on the balcony. The man was finally ushered away from the square, but by then Widener had already immortalized his extraordinary act of resistance on film. Widener was not the only one photographing the event, but because his image was cable transferred via APs network it became the front-page image used by newspapers all around the world.

We know him as Tank Man, and he has become a global hero. He is still unidentified, something which makes him all the more universal; a symbol of resistance against unjust regimes everywhere. Perhaps you've recently seen other images of people kneeling in protest?

You can see this picture in Preus museums 24 hours open outdoor exhibition «Iconic Images» from Friday 12. of June!