Art and Politics

I was looking on the Art & About website because I wanted to get some background info on all of the works that I have been seeing lately scattered throughout the city. I was a little surprised to see that almost all of the descriptions of the works on the site were very 'safe', so as not to offend anyone or bring about any sort of commotion, given its status as a public event. I on the other hand find some of the works to be particularly sinister, ironic and political. The colourfully dressed statues all over the city reminded me of Yinka Shonibare's practice of incorporating ethnic patterns within traditional English attire. Because the various fabric used to dress the statues is so vibrant, I seem to associate it with 'native' or 'tribal' imagery. I may be way off the mark with this impression but while others stand in front of the colourful statues in order to have their picture taken, I can't help but feel something like "white guilt" or a tension with the work. Again, with the laneway work HAR BOUR VIEW by John Cambell, the site talks about the work in a very light-hearted, harmless way, seeming to censor the work's political message.