A painting of Julian Assange taking a leak has won this year’s Bald Archy Prize, reports Australia’s Daily Telegraph:
The caricature by French artist Xavier Ghazi portrays the WikiLeaks founder with his trousers around his ankles, urinating into a top hat with the US flag on it.
The Bald Archy - a parody of the Archibald Prize for portraiture - is a competition of humorous works of art, making fun of Australian celebrities and politicians.
The exhibition and prize is advertised as the only one in the world judged by a sulphur-crested cockatoo named Maude.
There were 46 finalists in this year’s competition, with “the two Jules”, Julia Gillard and Julian Assange dominating the competition, founder Peter Batey said at the announcement in Sydney on Tuesday.
Ghazi, 60, said he had first thought of calling his painting Pissing Off The Empire.
“Having a leak in Uncle Sam’s hat is pissing off the empire,” he told reporters.
“It’s not as much about the US as it is about global power and instruments of domination.”
It was Ghazi’s fourth time to win the $5000 prize, now in its 18th year.
He said the win was particularly meaningful to him as he has had “a horrible three or four past years”.
“Professionally I lost my teaching jobs, I lost my job for a newspaper I used to work with and I’m turning blind in my right eye,” he said.
Previously on DM
Video of Julian Assange owning the dance floor