Thursday, December 06, 2007

Deborah Kelly billboard: Sydney


After 18 months of trying to buy a billboard space in inner Sydney, artist Deborah Kelly's antinuclear work finally went up in Chippendale on Wednesday 14 November, 2007.

The artwork was originally made for the 2003 Venice Biennale, and shown there as part of a collaborative project between Kelly and US artist Martha Rosler.

But in Sydney, no billboard company in the city would accept the work, funded by musician John Butler, citing mysterious "commercial conflicts", if they responded at all.

Company after company were very keen to take Ms Kelly's grant money- until, that is, they saw the artwork. Then , silence.

In desperation she approached her local council, and local politicians, who "became involved when the free speech issue highlighted the flimsiness of our democracy", she says.

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