Swastika art incites anger

Broadcaster and high-profile Wanganui mayor Michael Laws is being urged to tear down a controversial art exhibition glorifying Nazi swastikas.

Former servicemen and those who suffered under the Nazis during World War II are angry about the works, on show at the town's Sarjeant Gallery.

They want Mr Laws to can the exhibition by artist Wayne Youle and are also demanding the swastika artworks be destroyed.

It comes as a campaign in Europe gathers force to have the symbol banned across the continent. It is already illegal in Germany.

Derek Lessware, 71, who lived outside London and suffered Nazi bombing, said the display "rocked me on my feet".

"I was so incensed and angered. If there is a symbol that represents what was wrong with the 20th century, that would be the one."

The exhibition has been defended by Mr Youle, who says the koru bulbs at the ends of the swastika crosses convey the manipulation of symbols by different cultures.

His work, titled This is not a swastika nor is it a Walters, aims to show how the symbol of the koru has also been twisted. The swastika, once a symbol for luck and rebirth, has come to represent the opposite. The "Walters", in the title, refers to pioneering New Zealand abstract artist Gordon Walters, who experimented with the shape of the koru in his work.

"What gives him the right to do something that keeps me awake at night?" Mr Lessware said.

He wrote to Mr Laws to ask for the work to be removed. Mr Laws wrote back, saying he had no power to do so - even though the gallery is now run by the council after its board quit after a dispute with the mayor.

Mr Lessware has won support from the national Returned Services Association and veterans' group RIMPAC. John Campbell, RSA national president, said New Zealanders went abroad to fight for freedom of speech and expression.

"We would be disappointed if he [Mr Youle] chose to use a symbol that is an anathema to veterans who fought in World War II."

Trevor Humphrey, RIMPAC national secretary, said veterans visiting for a recent funeral wanted to tear the works from the walls.

The Wanganui branch of the RSA has also taken a strong line on the artworks, but refuses to comment publicly until the exhibition finishes on February 13 in case more people go to see it.

Mr Youle, who is currently building a go-cart that incorporates a swastika, said the strong reaction was partly because the exhibition was being held in Wanganui. "I don't think you would have the uproar if it was in Auckland."

He also said those upset should take time to understand the works, as it might make them more comfortable with the way the swastika was used. He accepted some people would never be comfortable with the works.

Mr Laws did not return Herald on Sunday calls.

THE SWASTIKA

The word comes from the Sanskrit "svastika", which means "good to be". In Indo-European culture, it was used to give good luck.

It was used as a Hindu holy symbol, meaning luck, Brahma or samsara (rebirth).

English author Rudyard Kipling, strongly influenced by Indian culture, used the swastika on the dust jackets of his books.

The Nazi Party in Germany adopted the swastika in 1920. Its use was linked to the belief in the Aryan cultural descent of the German people and the connection to the early white Aryans of India.

Dictator Adolf Hitler wrote about the swastika in Mein Kampf, describing the many attempts he made to create a flag using the swastika.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY