I’m not trying to destroy art, says man planning to do just that if Assange dies in jail

Andrei Molodkin’s ‘Dead Man’s Switch’ is a pneumatic pump connecting two barrels that could cause a chemical reaction strong enough to destroy the 16 artworks. Photograph: The Foundry Studio

He’s attracted global media attention and criticism after vowing to destroy some of the world’s most precious artwork if Julian Assange dies in prison.

But Andrei Molodkin, the Russian dissident artist, has said he does not believe the works by Picasso, Rembrandt, Andy Warhol and others, which he will lock away in a safe with a corrosive substance this Friday, will actually be destroyed.