Supporters of Western Australian artist Vincent Namatjira OAM have backed his right to artistic freedom amid demands for the withdrawal of his work from the National Gallery of Australia.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has issued repeated calls for Namatjira’s series of caricatures called “Australia in Colour” to be removed from the gallery over his depiction of her, the Sydney Morning Herald reported yesterday.
Today, the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) said, “While Rinehart has the right to express her opinions about the work, she does not have the authority to pressure the gallery into withdrawing the painting simply because she dislikes it”.
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The group said they stand firmly behind Namatjira and asserted that “artists, as historians, commentators, and critics of society, should be free to create art about any subject and by any means, provided it is within the law.”
“Freedom of Expression is a universal human right highly valued by artists,” NAVA Executive Director Penelope Benton said.
The group said that Namatjira’s satirical work exemplified that artistic freedom.
They said his installation of paintings “offered a critical exploration of Australia’s complex colonial history and its ties to the British Empire through subversive wit and caricature”.
Namatjira’s work “Australia in Colour features portraits of 21 figures from Australian and world history, politics and culture.
His subjects in the 2021 work include the late Queen Elizabeth II, Cathy Freeman, and Captain Cook alongside his own self-portrait.
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‘While Rinehart has the right to express her opinions about the work, she does not have the authority to pressure the gallery into withdrawing the painting simply because she dislikes it,” Benton said.
The group also said that Rinehart’s pressure on the gallery to remove the artwork “sets a dangerous precedent for censorship and the stifling of creative expression.'”
The group offered their “unwavering support” to the National Gallery of Australia.
Rinehart’s company Hancock Prospecting has been contacted for comment.
In 2022, Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting withdrew its contract with Netball Australia after players raised concerns about wearing the mining company’s logo over comments Rinehart’s father Lang Hancock made in 1984 and his record on Indigenous issues.
