Hidden Pillar

This illustration was made to commemorate the life of a civil engineer who tried to fight against superficial consolidation of buildings in Bucharest after a disastrous earthquake hit in 1977, which caused over 1500 deaths and left the capital of Romania in ruin. Gheorghe Ursu tried to convince the authorities to follow a rigorous consolidation plan of all affected buildings, but was instead advised to turn a blind eye and only make aesthetic restorations. Refusing to keep silent, he wrote a letter Radio Free Europe denouncing the communist leader’s actions that could potentially put the population of Bucharest at great risk in the eventuality of another big earthquake. For his defiance, he was detained by the regime and brutally murdered while in prison.