Artist brushes off Keneally

Artist brushes off Keneally

While some opinion polls are assuring the Premier, Kristina Keneally, that she is well liked in the community, it seems that her standing remains distinctly unimproved in a small corner of Redfern. A well-known Aboriginal artist, Gordon Syron, has leapt on Keneally's appointment as Premier to highlight his two-year battle with her as the Minister for Redfern-Waterloo. The pair have repeatedly clashed over Keneally's attempts to evict the 68-year-old Syron from a government-owned shed he occupies near Redfern railway station, which holds what is said by some experts to be an important collection of urban Aboriginal art. Attempts by the Redfern Waterloo Authority to accommodate Syron's demands that the Government buy the collection have proved unsuccessful and the relationship has broken down - badly, judging by Syron's latest broadside. The artist has depicted the Premier unflatteringly in a painting called We jail 'em in NSW - KKK a portrait, which is featured in an exhibition at the Uniting Church's Chapel by the Sea at Bondi Beach. The work depicts several Ku Klux Klan figures, apparently taking aim at Keneally's American roots and her initials, KKK, to make a somewhat blunt point about the white colonisation of Australia. Asked about the fairness of tying the Premier's initials to the white supremacist group, Syron defended the work as deliberately provocative. ''People need to think about Aboriginal history and culture'', he said. The chapel's minister, John Queripel,was unavailable for comment.

To see photo of paining visit Source: www.smh.com.au/national/the-diary/artist-brushes-off-keneally-20100118-mgtg.html 

CHURCH AND STATE

Meanwhile, the Uniting Church minister at Bondi's Chapel by the Sea, John Queripel, has defended his decision to host an exhibition of the Aboriginal artist Gordon Syron's latest work, including his controversial portrait of the Premier, Kristina Keneally, surrounded by Ku Klux Klan figures, and offered the artist his full support. ''We are not only honoured but feel we need to hang the work,'' Queripel told The Diary. ''Clearly Gordon does not believe the Premier is a member of the Ku Klux Klan. However, what he is asserting is that the policies she and others have carried out with Aboriginal people have had that same effect, an effect he judges to be rooted in a deep racism.'' Syron has battled Keneally, who is also the Minister for Redfern-Waterloo, over the authorities' attempts to evict him from a government-owned railway shed in Redfern which houses an extensive collection of urban Aboriginal art. Syron wants the Government to buy the collection so it can be stored appropriately. The chapel announced yesterday that Syron will speak at the exhibition on Australia Day.

Source: www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/moves-afoot-to-frame-ferguson-20100121-moao.html