An art installation of an inverted red triangle in a Melbourne gallery has sparked uproar over the meaning behind the symbol.
Hayden’s art gallery, in Brunswick East, is currently showing an exhibition by visual artist and RMIT University lecturer Dr Leslie Eastman, titled The Cave, The Flood.
Part of the exhibition includes a 3metre wide inverted pyramid that’s lit up with a red LED floodlight.
The symbol of an inverted red pyramid has been used by the military wing of Palestinian group Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, to mark Israeli targets.
It has caused controversy around the globe, with even Berlin banning the use of the red triangle.
Dr Eastman’s exhibition is described as a ‘response to the charged events that have erupted over the last nine months in historic Palestine’.
‘More than ever the latest phase in the occupation of Palestine has exposed vested interests and the limits of Western institutions, creating a flood of enraged civil and artistic protests worldwide,’ the description on Hayden’s website reads.
‘The Cave, The Flood is a response to the complex history and meanings of this charged geological and spiritual pivot point, considering it from both religious and political perspectives.
The symbol of an inverted red pyramid has been used by the military wing of Palestinian group Hamas, the Al-Qassam Brigades, to mark Israeli targets. An art installation involving the triangle is currently being shown in an art gallery in Melbourne
‘So much is clouded in Western reportage. So little of the context is appreciated by Western eyes.’
The triangle has been on show in the gallery since August 16, with the exhibition set to finish on September 14.
Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Patterson blasted the art installation.
‘No supporter of the Palestinian cause in Australia should be associating themselves with the symbols of Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation,’ he told The Australian.
‘It is well and truly pushing the bounds of art, good taste and potentially even the law to appropriate an image used by the Al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s militant wing, to designate Israeli targets on the 7th of October and in their propaganda videos since.’
Dr Eastman is a senior lecturer in Design and Social Context at RMIT.
A spokesperson for the university said: ‘RMIT was aware that an academic was exhibiting his work, however we were not aware of the specific content of the exhibition.’
‘The academic’s creative practice research is light-based installations.’
Dr Eastman and Hayden’s gallery were contacted for comment.
Hayden’s art gallery, in Brunswick East, is currently showing an exhibition by visual artist and RMIT University lecturer Dr Leslie Eastman (pictured), titled The Cave, The Flood
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