A Chinese-Australian artist has called for more support from the Australian government after Chinese officials tried to shut down his latest show in Poland.
The artist, who goes by the name Badiucao, is due to launch his latest exhibition at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art in Warsaw on Friday.
#Breaking 🇵🇱 @u_jazdowski art center ‘s website is briefly down for unknown reason.
The art center is hosting my new exhibition #TellChinasStoryWell on June 16.
Yesterday Chinese embassy visited venue again to express complain against the show. pic.twitter.com/iREmf1E1aC— 巴丢草 Bad ї ucao (@badiucao) June 13, 2023
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The show is titled Tell China’s Story Well, and the promotional image is a painting of the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, eating human flesh, referencing Goya’s Saturn Devouring His Son.
The Chinese diplomat Yao Dongye has twice visited the museum and the embassy has also written to the Polish government to have the exhibition shut down, the artist told AAP.
Badiucao’s artworks critique China’s internment camps in Xinjiang, its Hong Kong crackdown, Covid-19 measures, aggression in the South China Sea and threats against Taiwan.
“These are the facts that are making the Chinese government so discredited, my art is simply exposing their crimes,” the artist said.
Badiucao, who is an Australian citizen, said he had contacted the Australian embassy with concerns about his safety but has yet to speak with them.
He said he had hoped for more support.
“I am alone doing an exhibition in a foreign country, everything is quite unpredictable,” he said.
“If they fail to silence my show, they will move on to more personal threats and attacks.”
A previous exhibition in Hong Kong in 2018 was shut down after threats to the artist’s family, while his shows in Italy and the Czech Republic have also faced pressure.
The exhibition also draws links between Xi and Vladimir Putin’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.
“We all know that China is siding with Putin and supporting his invasion in different ways,” Badiucao said.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Chinese embassy have been contacted for comment.
