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Photo credit, MONA / Rémi Chauvin
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Tasmania’s Dark Mofo Festival is renowned for its provocative artwork.
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An Australian festival has apologized for commissioning a work of art that allegedly saw the British flag drenched in the blood of natives.
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The work, titled Union Flag, by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra, will not be shown at the Dark Mofo festival.
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She had drawn convictions after being included in the program last week.
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The festival called on “First Nations people from countries claimed by the British Empire” to volunteer to donate small amounts of blood.
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Sierra said the installation was intended to convey the pain and destruction caused by colonialism.
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But critics, including several Australian Aborigines, called the work “abusive”, “deaf” and “re-traumatic”.
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In particular, they noted the fact that the festival takes place in Tasmania, an island state that experienced massacres of Aborigines by white settlers in the 19th century.
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“Asking First Nations people to donate blood to water a flag is to recreate, not criticize, the heinous conditions of colonization,” said Indigenous artist Cass Lynch.
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Another reviewer wrote online: “I don’t understand how you can’t see the hypocrisy of asking First Nations people to donate blood to a white artist and highlight at the same time. this is stolen land. “
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The organizers defend and then cancel the work of art
The artist had planned for the flag to be “immersed” in a vat of blood and hung for the festival.
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The festival director initially defended the work against criticism, claiming that “personal expression is a fundamental human right”.
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“We support artists to make and present works regardless of their nationality or cultural background,” Leigh Carmichael said on Monday.
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Photo credit, Getty Images
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L’artiste Santiago Sierra
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But in the face of escalating backlash, Mr Carmichael apologized the next day and said Darth Mofo would cancel the work.
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“We have heard the community’s reaction to the Union Flag de Santiago Sierra. Ultimately, the harm that will be caused by the procedure is not worth it,” he said.
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“We made a mistake, and we take full responsibility for it.”
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Several indigenous artists have called for his resignation.
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David Walsh, the billionaire Australian owner of the festival, also apologized and said he had earlier received a letter of complaint from staff about the work.
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“[Je] did not see the deeper consequences of this proposal, “admitted David Walsh.” Naively, perhaps incredibly, I thought it would appeal to the usual leftist demographics. “
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Mr Walsh said he believed in the “right to express an opinion even … when experience is lacking”, but agreed with critics that “my ignorance does not empower me”.
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Photo credit, MONA / Rémi Chauvin
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Leigh Carmichael, director of the festival, reconsidered his decision not to accept the work.
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Many people have claimed that the work is “performative activism”.
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“What if, instead of supporting a white artist’s view of colonialism, you support indigenous artists who actively fight that oppression,” said an online reviewer.
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While many Internet users have welcomed this decision, others, including Sierra fans, have criticized the concession of the festival.
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Sierra posted an image on Facebook after the cancellation, which reads: “Often the slave defends the symbols of the master.”
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The European artist is known for his provocative works on human suffering.
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He notably represented drug addicted prostitutes with a tattooed line on the back and made sculptures from human feces.
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