Tauranga artist Cordula Taiwo painted this work, titled 'the royal blues hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil', before the Queen died. Photo/Andrew Warner
Tauranga artist Cordula Taiwo painted this work, titled 'the royal blues hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil', before the Queen died. Photo/Andrew Warner
A Tauranga woman whose painting of the Queen has been removed from a local exhibition has described the decision as going against "what art stands for".
But exhibition organisers say they found the painting "insensitive" following the Queen's death and were concerned it would offend some spectators.
Artist Cordula Taiwo had five works lined up to show in the Tauranga Society of Artists Supreme Award Expo that got underway on Thursday.
But the day before it launched Taiwo found out one of her pieces had been withdrawn from the exhibition.
She had painted the work, titled 'the royal blues hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil', before the Queen died but felt it was still appropriate to showcase it.
In the artwork description, Taiwo said the painting alluded to the "dignity and integrity with which the Queen conducted her affairs", while also echoing "the wrongs that have been done within her territories".
"As a spiritual leader of a nation, she has shown wisdom, often beyond her years, yet there are many questions that did not find a satisfying answer for those, who live on the less fortunate side of history."
The description also stated Taiwo was "not a royalist" but admired the Queen's lifelong commitment to service and duty.
"May she rest in peace and may we learn to do better."
Speaking to the Bay of Plenty Times, Taiwo said she was "really upset" about the decision and felt it was taking away the opportunity for spectators to have "respectful conversation about uncomfortable topics".
"I dropped it off, and later I received a phone call saying one member has taken offence by my portrayal of the Queen. And they removed the painting because it is offensive."
"They have taken the painting off the wall and are not prepared to show it."
Taiwo, who works as a teacher at Ōtūmoetai College, said the painting was a "conversation starter" and felt that being "shut down by other artists was a sign of our times".
Tauranga artist Cordula Taiwo's painting of The Queen. Photo/Andrew Warner
"Art is a place of refuge, a place where you express what you can't put into words. It's a healing place - but healing also comes with difficult stories," she said.
"Art being shut down in this way - I find that very hard to reconcile with what art stands for."
She said she removed her other four works from the exhibition in response to the decision.
"It's not just about making pretty art and getting a couple of hundred dollars. It means something to me."
Tauranga Society of Artists president Janeen George said the executive committee made the decision to exclude the painting after viewing it.
"Due to the very recent death of Queen Elizabeth II, a painting that depicted the Queen blindfolded and gagged with blue tape was deemed to be insensitive and could cause offence to some of our visitors at a public event."
George said Taiwo was a valued member of the society and a "very generous-spirited artist". The committee was saddened the artist was upset by the decision, she said.
"However, the committee has a responsibility to act in what they believe to be is the best interest of the majority, and has the authority to exclude any artwork that is deemed inappropriate."
The Supreme Award Expo, held at Tauranga Boys' College, was showing more than 400 original artworks by 90 local artists.
It's open until Sunday between 9.30am and 5pm.
Palmerston North-based painter, sculptor, and art critic Fran Dibble said the decision to remove the artwork from the exhibition was "pretty sad".
She said while seeing an artwork electronically was not the same as seeing it in person, in her opinion, the painting did not appear to be what "you would call really upsetting".
"If people are offended, if that's the way they respond to it, is that a bad thing really?"
"It seems a sort of a strange world we've ended up with where there's this huge dichotomy that goes on - on one hand there's all this social media where people say the most heinous of things to each other," she said.
"But then the other side of the dichotomy is then everyone gets so kind of over-worried about things that people like curators pull out works that they deem offensive for very small reasons really.
