Complaint lodged over 'racist graffiti' installation
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A complaint has been lodged with the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board over a Sydney biennale art exhibit that includes a graffitied toilet block on Cockatoo Island.
Indigenous artist Vernon Ah Kee included the graffiti-covered 1980s toilet block in his exhibition, calling it "The Skin That I Live In".
The CEO of the 2008 Biennale Marah Braye says the artist is highlighting racism.
"It's a denunciation of the vulgar and racist language that people who were working on the island were using and it's an Aboriginal artist talking about the white Australians who were working on the island," she said.
Ms Braye says it's a legitimate exhibition.
"The area has been open to the general public for as long as the island has been open to the general public, however, the increase in visitation to the island currently has increased the visibility of the graffiti, which is exactly what the artist intended," she said.
But Sydney resident Bruce Thompson lodged the complaint after seeing it.
"The graffiti should be removed. I don't believe that offensive statements are art. I just think they're offensive," he said.
The biennale organisers say they have now put up a warning sign.
