Buddha's 'comical genitalia' upsets passers-by » Communities » 24dash.com

Detectives from a "hate crime unit" have asked an art gallery to turn around a sculpture of Buddha with comical genitalia that upset passers-by.

Police said they received a number of complaints from members of the public who saw the bronze statue - which shows a penis and testicles in the shape of a banana and eggs - on display in the window of the Saint Giles Street Gallery in Norwich.

Now gallery owner David Koppel has agreed to turn the sculpture - A Trilogy: The Iconoclasts, by artist Colin Self - so that the front cannot be seen from the street.

A police spokeswoman said detectives from the force's hate crime unit looked into the complaints and had spoken to Mr Koppel.
She said she did not know "the ins and outs" of the investigation.

"Our basic position is that there is no issue with various types of art being displayed," she said.

"We have had a complaint in respect of the prominent exhibition of this statue on the basis that it causes religious offence.

"An officer has visited the art gallery in question. There is no issue with the fact that the statue is on display within the gallery.

"However, there is an issue with such a piece of art being displayed prominently in a window frontage in full view of passers-by on a busy public street.

"We have liaised with the management of the gallery in order to reach a solution which both upholds the principles of freedom of artistic expression but also prevents any offence being caused to any general member of the public or faith group.

"At this time, the solution is that the statue remains on display in the gallery but staff have turned it away from the general view of the street and passing members of the public."

The sculpture, thought to be worth between around £150,000 had been on display at the Royal Academy in London during June, July and August.

An academy spokeswoman today said no one had complained.

The Royal Academy exhibition was featured in the Church Times in June and reviewer Pamela Tudor-Craig said the sculpture "sets out to offend Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians".

"I was thinking as I came along that if we rubbished other people's culture and religions as we rubbish our own, we would have another war on our hands," Tudor-Craig wrote.

"Political correctness restrains us to the point where we confine our spite to our own tradition. Nevertheless, I was wrong.
"Item 1119, by Colin Self, rightly entitled A Trilogy: The Iconoclasts, sets out to offend Hindus, Buddhists, and Christians, and is so successful in its ambition that I cannot describe it in these pages. At £150,000, it is probably the most expensive object on sale here."

Mr Koppel said: "It's utterly ridiculous. You couldn't make it up.

"A few months ago, I told the police that I'd seen a man walking down a lane pointing a gun - nothing was done. We had a burglary a few weeks ago.

"Some cash was stolen out of the till - nothing was done. My next-door neighbour's car was stolen - nothing was done. But offend the Buddhists and the police are there.

"Detective Constable (Dan) Cocks told me in no uncertain terms that if I turned the sculpture around again to face the window he would be coming to arrest me and the sculpture may be destroyed."

He said the Buddha was one of three sculptures. The others portrayed a Christ on a cross shaped like an aeroplane and a Ganesh wearing a Nazi helmet. No-one had complained about the others.

"I think the point of the piece is that icons are dangerous and that religion causes war and disharmony," said Mr Koppel.
"I think Colin has been proved right. This is exactly what he is saying. Religion causes arguments."

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