Northern Ireland: Controversy over artwork depicting migrants burning on a pyre: racist for some, "artistic protest" for others
Controversy in Northern Ireland. A scene depicting migrants on a boat sparks a reaction in the British province.
A boat containing mannequins of migrants was placed on a bonfire erected for traditional Loyalist celebrations, sparking reactions just weeks after anti-immigration riots in the British province. A total of 12 life-size mannequins, all black and wearing life jackets, were placed in the boat, which was installed on top of a stack of pallets several meters high, on which signs reading "Stop the boats" and "Stop illegal immigration" were attached.
Colm Gildernew, a local Northern Ireland Assembly member for the republican Sinn Fein party, called for the immediate removal of the installation, denouncing it as " a repugnant act fueled by appalling racist attitudes ." Patrick Corrigan, Northern Ireland director of the NGO Amnesty International, also denounced it as a " vile and dehumanizing act fueling hatred and racism ."
Unionist activist Jamie Bryson, for his part, defended a form of " artistic protest ".
Fdesouche
