A mother has hit out at the Art Gallery of South Australia over a graphic installation she says children should be “protected” from seeing.
Sarah Game, a One Nation MP in South Australia, shared several photos of the artwork, which includes a naked man with female genitalia smoking a cigarette and an ape breastfeeding a human baby.
The enormous works of art are situated in a room filled with “radical classical” art, including traditional paintings hanging on the back walls.
Just behind one of the sculptures is a painting of the Baby Jesus and Mary.
“I support freedom of expression, but I believe parents have the right to safeguard the moral and ethical education of their children,” Ms. Game said.
“I loved taking my kids to the Art Gallery of South Australia, but after seeing these photos from a concerned constituent, I won’t be going back anytime soon.”
The enormous works of art are situated in a room filled with “radical classical” art, including traditional paintings hanging on the walls behind.
The artist behind the ape work, titled ‘Great Mother’, is known for her unusual mediums and themes, often portraying ‘future dystopias’.
Ms. Game asks that the artwork “be placed in an adults-only area” if it “must remain there.”
He hopes they will be removed from the gallery entirely following complaints from locals.
TO Change.org Petition has been launched to “ensure our children’s environment remains appropriate and family-friendly.”
Concerned parents have since told Game that their children have already seen the statues.
One mother said her 14-year-old daughter came home from a school trip talking about “the ape with the big gaping hole.”
Another described the two works as “contrasting and grotesque.”
“Maybe it will be tolerated in an adult-oriented gallery, but not one where families and schools frequent.”
Ms. Game asks that the artwork “be placed in an adults-only area” if it “must remain”
Another critic said it sparked unwanted conversations with his seven-year-old nephew after he asked “why does a bronze statue of a man have a vagina?”
“You shouldn’t have a conversation like this with him going to the art gallery,” they said.
The artist behind the ape work, titled ‘Great Mother’, is known for her unusual mediums and themes, often portraying ‘future dystopias’.
Patricia Piccinini spent the first three years of her life in Sierra Leone and later said of Big Mother: “If you have ever lived in Africa, you will always have many stories.”
He recalled hearing from a friend that his little sister was “kidnapped by a grieving baboon.”
‘For me, this story tells us that in the face of grief and the pain of losing a child, the differences between different species are not so important. “We have more in common in the love of children than genetic differences, and yet the genetic differences are actually quite small,” he stated.
The other work, ‘Buck With Cigar’, is created by British artist Mark Quinn and is part of a series of works showing a man who has undergone plastic surgery to achieve female genitalia.
She was also inspired by her own difficulties breastfeeding her son and subsequently learned how to feed her son by breastfeeding her sister’s baby.
“It was really interesting how strange and unusual it is for a mother to breastfeed someone else’s baby,” she said.
“Even stranger perhaps is the fact that we feel much more comfortable drinking the breast milk of another animal (for example, a cow) than that of another human being.”
The work is 175 cm high and is made of fiberglass, leather, silicone and real human hair.
The other work, ‘Buck With Cigar’, was created by British artist Mark Quinn and is part of a series of works showing a man who underwent plastic surgery to obtain female genitalia.
Some of his works not included in the gallery but part of the same series are even more controversial and feature a woman with male genitalia engaging in a sexual act.
A spokesperson for the Art Gallery of South Australia said: ‘Our goal is to create experiences that speak to and reflect the diversity of today’s society and that include our audiences and artists, whose voices are at the forefront of what we do at AGSA.
‘We proudly and innovatively present works of art to the Australian public and international visitors. Our exhibitions and collections aim to inspire and educate.
‘The art at AGSA is designed to spark conversation and debate and can sometimes be controversial. It is the role of artists and galleries like AGSA to encourage viewers to see the world, culture and politics from different perspectives.
‘AGSA is a proud melting pot of artistic, cultural and intellectual viewpoints. “We recognize that art is often the best platform to have challenging conversations.”
‘At AGSA we strongly support artists’ rights. “We also believe in preserving and celebrating diverse cultural expressions and would not remove a work from public display.”
‘The Gallery does not consider the sculptures Buck with Cigar by British artist Marc Quinn and Big Mother by Australian artist Patricia Piccinini to be inappropriate for viewing by children.
‘We prepare our visitors, including school groups, and encourage pre-visits from teachers and educators. When necessary, we issue sensory, cultural and content warnings.’
