Greek consulate in New York removes pink flag artwork against domestic violence, sparking dispute

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government on Tuesday defended a decision to remove a piece of artwork on display at its consulate in New York, a pink-and-white quilt in the design of the country’s flag that was part of a campaign against domestic violence.

The piece entitled “Neighborhood Guilt” by Georgia Lale was put on display Friday. Government officials in Athens confirmed that it had been taken down at the request of the Foreign Ministry.

“Clearly we will always protect the freedom of art, and that is something that need not be the subject of political debate. But there are some things that are sacred above all. One of them is our flag,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told private Skai television.

The flag – its colors replacing the official blue and white that form a cross and stripes – was made out of bed sheets donated by women living in Greece, according to organizers of the exhibition aimed at showcasing Greek artists based in New York.

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“I’m saddened that my work was misinterpreted,” Lale wrote in an online post. “Victims of femicide are heroes of the fight for freedom and life in Greece and internationally.”

The issue was raised in parliament over the weekend during a budget debate, when Dimitris Natsios, the leader of a conservative religious party, Niki, held up a photograph of the artwork.

“Our flag is blue and white and it can be dyed red only on one occasion: with the blood of our heroes during national struggles,” Natsios said Sunday to the applause of lawmakers from his party.

Greece’s left-wing opposition leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, criticized the center-right government for pulling the display. He likened Lale’s work to the American artist David Hammons and his 1990 piece, “African American Flag,” which replaced the colors of the United States flag with the green, red and black colors of the pan-African flag.

“Art is allowed to ‘play’ with the colors of national symbols when it seeks to convey a message that expresses opposition to racism or domestic violence,” Kasselakis wrote in an online post.