<
https://theconversation.com/would-sidney-nolan-be-cancelled-for-painting-ned-kelly-today-thats-what-creative-australia-has-done-to-khaled-sabsabi-249952>
"Despite the perceived outrage at Khaled Sabsabi’s depiction of Hassan
Nasrallah in his 2007 work
You, Australian art has long made subjects of
outlaws and questionable figures. And it is all the richer for it.
On Thursday, Shadow Arts Minister and self-described defender of free speech
Claire Chandler asked Senator Penny Wong:
Why is the Albanese government allowing a person who highlights a terrorist
leader in his artwork to represent Australia on the international stage at
the Venice Biennale?
Without seeing the work, Senator Wong said
I agree with you that any glorification of the Hezbollah leader Nasrallah is
inappropriate.
This was followed by disapproval from Arts Minister Tony Burke. Within 24
hours, Creative Australia’s board announced Khaled Sabsabi and curator Michael
Dagostino, the nominated artistic team for the Australian Pavilion at the 2026
Venice Biennale, had been scratched.
The news sparked shock resignations at Creative Australia, private funding
retractions and widespread outrage across the Australian and international arts
sectors.
The work in question,
You, isn’t related to Sabsabi’s proposed 2026 Biennale
work. It is an experimental video artwork which engages with the complexities
of the 2006 Lebanon War and how Sabsabi, who was born in Tripoli and migrated
to Australia in 1978, may have experienced this war remotely via newsfeed.
The work features images of now-deceased Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah. It should be noted the work was made in 2007, 14 years before
Australia determined Hezbollah to be a terrorist organisation. It resides in
the prestigious collection of Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
