Durban - The Grantleigh Curro school pupil at the centre of a number of controversial artworks has denounced the sharing of his pieces on social media platforms “without permission”.
Breaking his silence for the first time since the social media storm broke, the Grade 12 pupil said the artworks depicted the “commercialisation of contemporary organised religion”, and were a far cry from the “satanic panic” some people claimed it to be.
The artworks included several drawings where the Ronald McDonald clown replaces Jesus Christ’s image in various famous paintings like The Last Supper and the Creation of Adam. The artworks formed part of a display at the school’s prize-giving ceremony.
The artist, whose name has been withheld, said his artworks in the exhibition also explored the “monetary exploitation of the faithful by greedy individuals who hide behind the guise of the church or similar pious institutions”.
“Instead of connecting with one’s faith on a deep, seemingly meaningful level and actually having the guts to ask metaphysical questions, many simply consume their religion in the same fashion as any other product,” he explained.
He defended his use of the Ronald McDonald clown, saying it was a symbol of “the infection of faith with consumer culture”.
“Ronald McDonald does not act as a defamation of anyone’s personal messiah - instead he acts as a symbol of the abuse and the misuse thereof,” the pupil said. He added that he did not care what people believed, saying his drawings took the compositions of classical, religious paintings with symbols of capitalism to communicate his point of view.
“In a country (and indeed a larger world) that is stricken with poverty and glaring inequalities, who can take those religious leaders who regularly rake in millions of rand in income seriously?”
Grantleigh executive head Andrew Norris said the school had taken cognisance of the allegations made on social media, adding that the matter was subject to an internal investigation.
“We want to reiterate that comments made are not an accurate reflection of our school, and the situation referred to, and we reserve our rights in this regard,” Norris said.