Published: 11 Jan 13 15:00 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/45538/20130111/
Photographer Elisabeth Ohlson Wallin heckled the Swedish royal family and now her art is paying the price, with a photo agency pulling the plug on her right to buy its pictures. What does it mean for her, her work, and Swedish satire? The Local's Ann Törnkvist finds out.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
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Satire has been called tasteless, vulgar and a lot worse. Satirists have lost their lives, were burned at the stake, hanged and shot. The statement still holds true as I write today. It shouldn't be, fore the freedom of speech and expression of the arts is well founded in true democratic ruled governments such as the one I'm privileged to live in.
Traditionally satire has always been condemned by the ones that stood to loose. Whether it was, identity, power, belief or whatever else.
In this case, what's so bad about mocking Royalty? The best and worst that can happen is that one is given an opportunity to see, in a different light, who these people are and what they represent. There is nothing wrong with that.
Only the bigot would find the satire inmature and at fault.
Well and fine to promote the utility of satire, but like free speech, satire has its limits, particularly where the promotion of hatred is concerned.
As one poster wrote a few months ago on a earlier story about the royal photoshop job, the depiction of the Queen with a Swastika is an unwarranted insult to her and to all Germans.
How about this, you take her works back to your mus world and show them to your people see how they like them ok?
The unfortunate truth is that any nation that is prepared to "dish it out" but not prepared to take it is a very immature nation with a very long way to go before it can hold its head high.
You can argue that the piece is distasteful, offensive, etc. But to climb onto your high horses and discriminate against this woman simply for her right to express herself artistically or otherwise, is simply pathetic.
It's a terrifying reminder that many people in first world countries have no interest in protecting their rights and freedoms and tolerating the rights and freedoms of others. How easy it is to forget the ideals that other people fought and died for, that you so easily forget.
I say bravo to Ms Wallin for challenging the status quo and reminding us how far we have yet to go before we, as a society, can stand as a beacon to other nations of how to respect and tolerate each other's differences.