The artist responsible for a pretty eye-grabbing window display of politicians and billionaires as Nazis has spoken out, insisting the poster is intended to “make the viewer think” and does not, in fact, promote hate or racism.
The poster at creative design agency Advision in Wagga Wagga depicts former deputy prime minister and Nationals MP for Riverina Michael McCormack, Opposition leader Peter Dutton, and billionaires Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart in German World War II army uniforms.
On Tuesday, McCormack slammed the display, stating it is “beyond disgraceful” and asking police to investigate if it breached the law.
“The Nazis were pure evil. To be depicted as one of them is as insulting as it is vile,” he said in a Facebook post.
However, visual artist Michael Agzarian, owner of the agency, has defended the work. In a statement to PEDESTRIAN.TV, he explained he has been creating political and provocative artwork over his four-decade-long career on issues “that I, and millions of others, are passionate about”.
“How people view this work is a personal matter. The fact is many, many people support my art by buying it, backing it, display it and sharing it. Of course there are others who are offended or angered by it and that’s their prerogative,” he said.
“Put simply, I endeavour to make the viewer think, engage and consider a different point of view. I do not promote hate, racism or violence.”
Agzarian added: “I encourage change, justice, equality and peace.”
An NSW Police spokesperson told ABC News that, after legal advice, it was determined the material did not breach the Australian Criminal Code.
The posters are on display at the store on Wagga Wagga’s main street, per ABC News. A pixelated version of McCormack’s poster has now replaced the initial image of him.
Also sharing the image on social media, Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley called the display “abhorrent” in a separate Facebook post on Tuesday.
“It has no place in Wagga, no place in our Riverina region and no place in Australia,” she wrote, adding that social cohesion is “at breaking point” in the country.
“This needs to be cleaned up and it needs to be done this morning. This is hate-speech, plain and simple. Let’s call it out and swiftly remove it,” Ley said.
The storefront display comes over a month after hate crime laws were passed in NSW in response to a number of anti-Semitic incidents and rising hate speech.
The federal government also passed the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment Bill in 2023, which prohibits the use of Nazi symbols and other measures glorifying the Holocaust and terrorist acts.
Agzarian previously told the Region Riverina the image was a parody of Hogan’s Heroes, a 1960s sitcom set in a German camp during World War II. In the sitcom, Allied prisoners of war secretly run sabotage missions against the fictional Colonel Wilhelm Klink and Sergeant Hans Schultz.
Lead image: Facebook
The post Artist Who Depicted Dutton, Rinehart & More As Nazis Defends Work: ‘Makes You Think’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
