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English
Collage Artist Michael Dickinson in Turkey..
September 2007
The English collage artist Michael Dickinson had been accused
of insulting the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
He was held by Turkish police for ten days after exhibiting
works which included one where Turkish prime minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan was depicted as a pet dog being patted by president
Bush.
The above image by Michael Dickinson is one of the offending
collages that may cost the artist up to 2 years in prison. It
depicts the President of the United States of America, George
W. Bush treating the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip
Erdogan as his pet dog.
The collage below, by the artist Michael Dickinson shows the
Turkish prime minister as dog, held by the leash of the American
flag, and chewing on bundles of American dollars.
The artist
thought he had served his time and that the issue would be dropped,
but he has was summoned to appear in court on the 8th of October
and faces up to two years in a Turkish prison.
Michael Dickinson says "When the judge asked me to describe
what I was trying to say in my 2 collage pictures of Erdogan
in the role of America's dog, I said that it was up to the viewer
to make his own interpretation; a visual artist shouldn't need
to explain in words. Pictures are for eyes. Words (spoken) are
for ears.
I said that over the years I'd made countless collage pictures
of President George W Bush and Tony Blair in much more unflattering
roles without persecution. In the Western/European world, artists
are allowed to express their feelings in their works."
A petition for the artist and freedom of rights in Turkey, along
with more information on the archaic law of "insulting
Turkishness" can be found at the MungBeing
website.
More works can be found at the artist's website
here. He calls his site Yabanji, which is the Turkish word
for stranger, foreigner, or outsider, which he sees as himself
living in Turkiye.
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News and Current Events> English Artist Charged in Turkey
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