BERLIN: The curators of a major art show in Germany have apologised for including a work featuring antisemitic elements that prompted an outcry at the event's opening this week.
Taring Padi had insisted that the work - which it said was first exhibited at the South Australia Art Festival in Adelaide 20 years ago - was “in no way related” to antisemitism, but instead referred to the post-1965 dictatorship in Indonesia. “We acknowledge that this was our error,” it said, adding that the decision to remove the installation had been taken in consultation with the artists.
Germany's president raised the issue during his speech at the show's opening Sunday, saying there were “limits” to what artists can do when they address political issues in a country still atoning for the Holocaust. His comments came before the Taring Padi banner was unveiled.