An artwork of a flag stencilled with the words "Please Walk On Me" has angered the local RSA who has labelled it an "insult" to veterans. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
An artistic invitation to "please walk" on the New Zealand flag is continuing to offend gallery visitors 30 years after it was first displayed.
Flagging the Future is just one of several artworks currently on display at Nelson's Suter Art Gallery as part of an exhibition showcasing the multimedia works of Diane Prince, who has a long history of Māori activism.
Recreated by Prince last year, the artwork features a surveying tripod - "a talismatic symbol of territorial conquest" by the Crown against Māori, according to the artist - made from flax stalks to symbolise Māori reclamation of their land.
However, it's the New Zealand flag stencilled with the words "Please Walk On Me" which sits at the base of the tripod that has sparked outrage from some in Nelson.
The artwork was first displayed in Auckland in 1995 as a critique of the Bolger government's decision to put a fiscal cap on Treaty of Waitangi settlements, but outrage from some at that time resulted in the artwork's removal.
Nelson RSA president Barry Pont said the artwork as an "insult" to veterans. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Returned and Services' Association Nelson branch president Barry Pont said his reaction to seeing the artwork was one of "shock horror".
"Over the years, we've fought under the New Zealand flag and to wipe your feet on it is an insult in my eyes," he said.
"You've got to give and take a bit, but this is beyond the joke, I think… I don't mind the flag lying on the floor, but not with the wording 'wipe your feet'. That's an insult to New Zealand's flag."
He added that legislation prohibits displaying the flag with the intention to dishonour it, and didn't think the artwork should be displayed in an art gallery that was supported by ratepayers.
Mayor Nick Smith said he personally found the artwork to be "in bad taste" and said he and the council had received 19 complaints about it.
"I would hold the same view if an artwork encouraged people to walk on the Tino Rangatiratanga flag," he said.
"I know others may view this art differently and that is just how art is."
The artwork features a surveyor's tripod made from flax stalks to symbolise Māori reclamation of their land. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
He acknowledged the Suter was independent of the council and encouraged the board and director to consider public feedback of its exhibitions, "as it is important our art gallery enjoys broad community support".
Exhibition curator Gina Matchitt said that Prince recognised the services of soldiers with "reverence and compassion".
Another artwork in the exhibition - gas masks woven from flax - even honours Prince's tīpuna (ancestors) who fought in the Land Wars and World War I.
"It's just important to really understand that there's more than one view of our flag," Matchitt said.
"For Māori, that Union Jack symbolises land loss, language loss, culture loss… the flag actually belongs to all New Zealanders, it doesn't just belong to the RSA."
She acknowledged that Aotearoa New Zealand's past was confronting for both Pākehā and Māori.
However, she said an art gallery was a safe way to unpack those stories and recommended people learn about local Māori history, potentially by reading Treaty settlements for their local iwi, to gain a greater understanding of how Māori were treated during colonisation.
Matchitt added that the artwork was particularly relevant in the contemporary context as the current Government attempts to "extinguish Māori rights".
Suter Art Gallery director Toni MacKinnon said it was the role of galleries to challenge conventions and provoke thought. Photo: LDR / Max Frethey
Suter Art Gallery director Toni MacKinnon said 'Flagging the Future' was a significant piece of the country's art history.
"Its return to public view is both an act of recognition and a chance to highlight a pivotal moment in the career of Diane Prince.
"Throughout history, galleries have exhibited works that challenge conventions and provoke thought - it's part of their role in a healthy society."
Diane Prince: Artist Activist is on display at the Suter Art Gallery until 5 October, and is being toured by Porirua's Pātaka Art + Museum.
- Local Democracy Reporting is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
