Billionaire art taken down after complaints

A section of an art exhibition in Cornwall has been removed following complaints, an artist and exhibition head have confirmed.

Four works by artist Andrew Swan were taken down after being on display at Trebah Gardens, on the Helford River, because visitors found them too depressing, he said.

The work called, Stinking Rich: The Cost of Wealth, depicted fictional tomb stones of four billionaires and their activities.

Jon Cummins, chief of the Trebah Garden Trust, said the pieces were taken down when he acted “on the information I’d received”.

‘Outrageous’

The Penzance-based artist said he was a “little bewildered” at the reaction to his pieces exploring “the impact that extreme wealth is having on our environment and society”.

He said his work focused on the activities of the billionaires, who were “each represented on four plinths which resemble tomb covers, and are accompanied by panels of information for the onlooker to interpret”.

He told BBC Radio Cornwall: “The explanation was that there had been a number of complaints from long-term members of Trebah Gardens who said that my work was ‘depressing’.”

He added: “I’m just a little bewildered that a few visitors found the topic of extreme wealth and the impact it is having on our environment and society so uncomfortable, especially during the current cost of living crisis.

“I think it probably says more about these people than any of my artwork.”

Mr Cummins said the site was trialling exhibitions and he had to “use my instincts, based on the feedback that I’d received”.

He added that “when people are coming to you and saying: ‘This is outrageous,’ or ‘I don’t think Trebah should have it,’ or ‘It’s too political”, then “I thought that perhaps I need to take some action”.

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