Gold Coast artwork: HOTA piece is subject to debate over nudity of young boy

It's the Gold Coast artwork which split opinion and Bulletin readers have been quick to give their thoughts on the new HOTA display. WHAT DO YOU THINK >>> VOTE IN OUR POLL

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IT'S the Gold Coast artwork which split opinion and Bulletin readers have been quick to give their thoughts on the new HOTA display. 

Mayor Tom Tate hit back at critics of a controversial artwork by Gold Coast artist Michael Zavros, saying "it's an innocent painting".

And it seems he has support from Bulletin readers.

From more than 800 who voted in a poll asking if the image was offensive, 68 per cent said they had no issues.

While 26 per cent were offended, a further 6 per cent said they had no opinion either way.

MAYOR'S CONTROVERSIAL HOTA STATEMENT

"If we ban this then we should ban the g-strings in Surfers too," wrote Monique.

Sheri said: "Why do we often remove things nowadays because of one or two people who complain? Thousands of other people might be quite happy with something but are being forced to accept the views of these handful of complainers, who might be wrong. We can't please everyone, but why listen to just a few people?"

Ben added: "I can live with this as Art, the GC SIGN on the M1 at Yatala is not!"

READ ALL THE COMMENTS AND VOTE BELOW

How the drama started

A child abuse survivor said the painting at the new HOTA Art Gallery, depicting the butt of a young boy, is of “poor taste” and “disgusting” and should be banned.

But Cr Tate said the artwork by the talented Mr Zaravos depicted a family spending a Sunday  in their pool.

"There is a lot more controversial art around the world. But I look at that piece from an art point of view, and the talent stands out," Cr Tate said.

"Subject matter, this is family. So you need to look at it from your perspective, and if other people don't like it I would say there are a lot of other pieces to spend their time in front of."

Cr Tate it was not his role to determine what art would remain up in the gallery.

"It's not in my remit, the gallery. I just build," he said.

Michael Zavros' HOTA artwork.

The hyper-realistic painting – painted by Mr Zavros in 2018 – depicts a young boy laying on his stomach on a swan pool toy.

The boy’s bare bottom is exposed and a young girl is swimming in the water next to him.

The painting is on display in the HOTA Gallery at Bundall and has sparked controversy after Gold Coast photographer Tommy Campion called for it to be removed.

Mr Campion said Mayor Tom Tate should ban the artwork.

“I believe it’s not suitable for a public gallery (and) I think it’s in very poor taste,” he said.

“You should not have a naked child on display in a public gallery.

“I’ve been abused, but that’s not why it shocked me. I would think you could throw a shade over it or something, it’s pretty blatant.”

The new HOTA gallery. Picture: HOTA

MAYOR'S CONTROVERSIAL HOTA STATEMENT

Mr Campion has previously spoken out about brutal abuse at a north coast children’s home, and testified at the 2013 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

He said he had become a target for abusive messages on social media after his post online divided Facebook users.

“I expected everyone to agree because it’s definitely not suitable, but people say there’s nothing wrong with it,” he said.

“There’s a few people (agreeing) but a lot of them are quite nasty. I’ve had private messages calling me (homophobic slurs).”

A HOTA spokesperson said: “The painting being referenced is (called) Zeus/Zavros by internationally acclaimed, Gold Coast-born and Brisbane-based artist Michael Zavros.

“The painting is part of a larger body of reflective self-portraits that references classical imagery of cherubs in a contemporary context – everyday scenes of Zavros’s children swimming in their pool.”

Mr Zavros has previously been commissioned by the Australian War Memorial and the National Portrait Gallery, and has displayed work in galleries across the country.

The photorealistic painting features his son Leo and daughter Phoebe.

The Bulletin has contacted Mr Zavros and child safety group Bravehearts for comment.

The HOTA Gallery opened just over a week ago and features a number of Gold Coast artists, as well as nationally and internationally acclaimed works.

60+ PHOTOS: Changing face of Gold Coast’s HOTA

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Originally published as Gold Coast artwork: HOTA piece is subject to debate over nudity of young boy