The Project Arts Centre in Dublin’s Temple Bar has been getting complaints about a new artwork calling for the repeal of the 8th Amendment.
The mural by the artist Maser, which is on the outside of the building, was completed last Friday in association with the Project Arts Centre and website The Hunreal Issues.
The project was commissioned to spread awareness and increase the visibility around the Repeal campaign and bring it to a wider audience.
To all the gorge peeps who love @MaserArt's mural @projectarts, we'll have tees of it next week. ❤️❤️ #RepealThe8th pic.twitter.com/JS2bq5thU8
— The HunReal Issues (@HunRealIssues) July 15, 2016
A spokesperson for the Project confirmed to Her.ie that they have been receiving complaints about the piece since Monday.
“We understand that this is a sensitive issue for many people, and the responses we have received so far, both positive and negative, surrounding Maser’s piece reflects that,” the spokesperson said.
The Hunreal Issues talked to Newstalk over the weekend to explain the goal of the art piece:
“The whole goal of The HunReal Issues is to add more voices who aren’t traditionally into politics and current affairs into the conversation and having something on the street, slap bang in the middle of Temple Bar seemed like the perfect way to do that.
“We’d been going through different ideas with him and he created the graphic that’s on the wall. We just thought we could use it on our Facebook but he just said ‘Find me a wall and I’ll paint it’.”
https://twitter.com/UnaMullally/status/753933662580641792
Artistic Director of the Project, Cian O’Brien, has made a statement on their website vowing unwavering support for the piece. He writes:
“Since it was founded in 1966, Projects Arts Centre has always placed the vision and freedom of expression of the artist at the centre of our work. As an organisation, we believe that it is important to support, perhaps controversially, undermined or undervalued artistic messages and moments that risk being unheard, unimagined and unseen; we want to challenge the public to think beyond the status quo.
|When a project is being led by artists (of a calibre I believe should be supported by Project) and is engaging with an issue with which Project can and should engage (such as Repeal the 8th ) then I, as Artistic Director, am empowered to determine how the organisation will best show its support and engagement. Project Arts Centre is proud to support this new artwork by celebrated artist Maser and The HunReal Issues.”
People have taken to Twitter to show their support for the piece:
#repealthe8th #NoToStateCensorship @projectartscentre @repealeight @HunRealIssues @MaserArt pic.twitter.com/zYrxU4S6Aa
— Sinéad Redmond @sineadredmond@mastodon.ie (@sineadredmond) July 15, 2016
Art belongs on the walls of art spaces – #YesEquality #MentalHealth #repealthe8th – I support the @projectarts RT pic.twitter.com/rNYsQNL9cb
— Will St Leger (@WillStLeger) July 15, 2016
#Repealthe8th mural should 100% stay. It's fab +it engages people on such an important issue! @ciangobrien @MaserArt https://t.co/pYZlphg2Sf
— Zazazzadine (@Zazazzadine) July 15, 2016
https://twitter.com/_mattuna/status/753907701051195392
https://twitter.com/TaraFlynn/status/753898064037941248
The HunReal Issues has also issued a statement following the complaints:
“This is an issue that affects so many people in this country and we can’t continue to offload responsibility for it and ignore it. We wanted to work with him (Maser) to create something that would start a conversation and get people thinking about what it means to them.
The more we talk about it – explore what repealing it actually means and what comes afterwards; how many people it has affected, and continues to affect – the less stigmatised women’s healthcare decisions and basic human rights becomes.”
If you are looking for ways to get involved in the campaign to Repeal the 8th Amendment, visit the Abortion Rights Campaign website. You can follow Her.ie’s coverage of the campaign here.
