Controversial mural sparks wave of complaints as business faces fine
A confronting mural showing a bound and gagged woman has sparked outrage, with a Melbourne council receiving over 1,000 complaints in just two days.
Los Angeles-based street artist Lauren YS was commissioned to paint the mural on a building near Cecil Street in the hip inner city suburb of Fitzroy.
But City of Yarra mayor Stephen Jolly said the mural had broken planning laws and the business behind the mural would be fined as result.
'They don't have a planning permit, they'll be approached about that, they'll be dealt with in the normal way,' Mayor Jolly told ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast.
He said the council had received more than 1,000 emails in the last 48 hours from local residents as well as interested parties from around the country.
Collective Shout, an NGO against domestic violence and sexual exploitation of women, led a campaign against the mural, but many locals backed the artwork.
'I don't know if sexualised images in front of children's faces is a good way of stirring controversy,' one man told ABC Radio Melbourne Breakfast.
However, another man said: 'I think it's representing a culture that a lot of people don't know about, shibari (Japanese rope bondage) is a beautiful artform that brings intimacy in people.'
Lauran YS said in a statement the work was 'about empowerment and queer selfhood'.
The artist said the location was chosen to avoid foot traffic and claimed there was a much higher trafficked street close by 'with synthetic boobs in the window'.
The mural was shared by the artist on Instagram, stating the piece was a 'parting gift for Melbourne/for the dolls'.
In a statement shared on social media, Collective Shout said the artwork 'eroticised violence against women'.
Movement director Melinda Reist said: 'This is porn-themed, adult sexual fetishes imposed on a non-consenting audience.
'It depicts the public humiliation of women at a time when we're expressing concern from rising rates of violence against women.'
Yarra Residents' Collective spokesman Adam Promnitz agreed: 'While that artwork may be great in a private space, in the street it is the wrong time and wrong place.
'Families and members of the public should not be subject to X-rated artwork without consent.'
The mural has subsequently been defaced by another graffiti artist.
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