2 days ago
Edinburgh arts venue in censorship row over Nazi symbols
According to The National, Jane Frere, the artist behind the work, has accused the venue of a 'baffling lack of respect'.
The 65-year-old was originally commissioned to create a set of murals for the venue in 2017, and updated the artwork after the election of Donald Trump last November.
A series of anti-Nazi slogans featured on the wall, including messages such as 'Stoppt Nazis' and 'I bite Nazis', as well as a smudged swastika.
The mural was painted by Jane Frere. (Image: Jane Frere) Frere told The National: 'I did feel hurt. Nobody touches another artist's work, you just don't do that.
'If that happened to be behind glass, they wouldn't be able to deface it. If it was an oil painting, how would they have defaced that? You just don't touch another artist's work.
'I understand how provocative a swastika is, and I was willing to remove it completely after discussion. It was the lack of discussion that really got me and made me very angry.'
She went on: 'They keep on going on about it being an inclusive and safe place.
'By providing a safe place for artists as well as the public that means respect for the artists. They have shown baffling disrespect towards me as an artist."
Frere said that Summerhall CEO Sam Gough had expressed concern over the swastika imagery.
48 hours after the design was complete, he contacted Frere to share that he had received a number of complaints and that references to Nazis had been removed.
Bosses at Summerhall said the symbols caused upset to staff and visitors. (Image: Jane Frere/Archive) The arts boss told The National: "Whilst on site it came to our attention that symbolism, imagery and copy associated with hate crime had been included in her piece, in this very public space.
'It is not possible to apply content warning in this space and so we were presented with a situation where it was necessary to ask Jane to remove the sensitive content."
The subsequent changes were not deemed adequate by the venue.
Gough added: "The symbols were then left in situ over the weekend, during which time we received multiple complaints from both members of the public and staff who were deeply offended and distressed by the depictions of both a swastika and an SS boot with the term WEISS inscribed above it."
He continued: "Jane was given multiple opportunities to submit proposals to complete the artwork omitting the use of imagery, symbolism or copy associated with hate crime. Repeatedly, Jane submitted proposals with the inclusion of such depictions.
"I must state that the use of symbolism, imagery and copy associated with hate crime in our public spaces, where no content warning may be applied is firmly against our polices and curatorial perspective. This has been repeatedly iterated to Jane."
Speaking on the message behind the mural, Frere said:
'We are talking about the rise of neo-Nazism, at least those of us who are engaged politically. It comes up in so much media. It's also terrifying that with this second return of a new Trump era, the far-right groups now are coming out of the woodwork and my fear is that it won't be long before those swastikas will be seen on the streets of Germany and Austria and countries where it is a forbidden symbol.
'By putting it up there I'm flagging it up as a reminder of potentially where we are at and what's to come. The reason why I put up a symbol that's so provocative and so disturbing is to wake us up because the one thing that seems to be the enemy of us all is a kind of complacency."
Kate Forbes was interviewed at Summerhall two weeks ago. (Image: GordonTerris/Herald&Times) Summerhall apologised to staff and building users for hosting Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes at The Herald's Unspun Live two weeks ago.
Ms Forbes, who is a devout Christian and has been criticised for her views on gay marriage and transgender rights, was interviewed at the venue as part of The Herald's Unspun Live two weeks ago.
Summerhall bosses said the hosting of Ms Forbes was an 'oversight', and implied she would not be welcome at future events.
The venue claimed some of its artists had raised fears about "hate speech" and the audience Ms Forbes may attract to Summerhall.
However, the charity later backed down after criticism from senior SNP figures including Shona Robison and Nicola Sturgeon.
Gough told the Mail: 'No one is banned from appearing on the stages. Summerhall is a collection of things in this building, including stages and venues. We have not banned anyone.'
