A mural featuring famous queer Australians has been removed from display just days after it went up at a police station in the heart of Sydney’s gay district.<\/p>\n
The work hung on an office wall at Surry Hills Police Station metres from Oxford Street, where the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade is held.<\/p>\n
It depicted numerous LGBTQ+ identities, including the actor Magda Szubanski, drag queen Courtney Act, and former High Court judge Michael Kirby.<\/p>\n
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The artwork features numerous LGBTQ+ identities. (Supplied)<\/p>\n
NSW Police would not give a reason for the mural’s removal, but two sources told the ABC an officer had complained about the work.<\/p>\n
“While we acknowledge that art is subjective and can generate discussion and debate, we need to ensure all officers are able to work in a professional and inclusive office,” a NSW Police spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The print by Jeremy Smith, called Queer Sydney: A History, was taken down days after it was mounted last month.<\/p>\n
It references events such as the first Mardi Gras, the HIV\/AIDS epidemic, and the legalisation of same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n
The work portrays scenes from the gay liberation movement, including a banner that says, “Stop police attacks on gays, women and blacks.”<\/p>\n
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Jeremy Smith describes his artwork as a “love letter to queer Sydney”. (Supplied: Instagram)<\/p>\n
The mural also includes the phrase, “Sodom of the south”, a nod to Sydney being described as a “Sodom” in 19th-century newspapers, according to a book by historian Garry Wotherspoon.<\/p>\n
Smith said he was disappointed the work, which he described as a “love letter to queer Sydney”, had been taken down.<\/p>\n
He said he accepted an invitation from police to display the mural because he believed art could “build bridges.”<\/p>\n
“My hope has always been that the work fosters empathy, reflection, and healing,” he said.<\/p>\n
“I acknowledge that confronting the past can be challenging for some, but it is only through facing and accepting it that we can truly heal and move forward together.”Removal ‘reflection of a bigger pattern’<\/p>\n
Peter Murphy says the removal may dishearten LGBTQ+ police officers. (ABC: Joey Watson)<\/p>\n
Peter Murphy, who was among activists beaten up by police at the first Mardi Gras parade in 1978, said the work’s removal would dishearten LGBTQ+ police officers.<\/p>\n
“It’s another reflection of a bigger pattern, a dynamic in the police,” he said.<\/p>\n
Amid heightened tensions last year, then-Police Commissioner Karen Webb <\/a>stressed her commitment to strengthening the relationship between police and the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n NSW Police chief says he wants to get force’s culture ‘right’<\/a><\/p>\n New commissioner Mal Lanyon does not believe there is still a “boys’ club” within the force.<\/p>\n Police were disinvited from marching at the 2024 Mardi Gras after an officer was charged with the murders<\/a> of Jesse Baird and Luke Davies, but organisers agreed officers could participate in the parade if they were not wearing uniform.<\/p>\n