In a perfectly executed version of The Streisand Effect, in which attempting to suppress something not many would have known about draws far, far more attention to it, Gina Rinehart has ignited the barely concealed giggles of Australians this week by demanding that an unflattering portrait of her likeness be removed from an exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia.
The portrait was then shared thousands of times on the internet, stoking a flurry of outrage, the mad tapping of social media commenters, and the schadenfreude of anti-mining activists. And the gallery said no.
The admittedly not-so-flattering artwork, by Archibald Prize-winning artist Vincent Namatjira, is graced with a collection of flabby chin rolls that cascade downwards from Rinehart’s scowling mouth. No, it isn’t a perfectly filtered Insta snap, but it is perfectly in style with Namatjira’s previous work – including portraits of many famous faces such as Cathy Freeman and Adam Goodes, neither of which I would describe as shining examples of flattery.
A tale of two portraits - Gina Rinehart and King Charles.
As it turns out, Rinehart’s sensitive art critic side wasn’t only inflamed just the once. A second portrait by Namatjira of the mining mogul, in black and white, also failed to meet her artistic standards.
Namatjira’s exaggerated, caricature-style artworks are depictions of wealth and fame, which he admits some people “might not like”, but says his hope is that “they take the time to look and think, ‘Why has this Aboriginal bloke painted these powerful people? What is he trying to say?’”
I’m not quite sure why Rinehart is so flustered over the not-so-flattering canvases – at least, she wasn’t depicted as burning in hell, like poor King Charles III this week. Charlie stood there like a good old chap and took it on the chin, even when the papers linked it to #tampongate and his wife reportedly quipped at the unveiling: “Yes, you’ve got him.”
I would think that Rinehart should be breathing a heavy sigh of relief that her own depiction isn’t going up in flames, considering her ongoing dumpster fire of a legal battle with her children, in which she is fighting accusations of defrauding them.
Yet, despite being listed as a “friend of the gallery” for her up-to-$9999 donation (not much for a magnate worth a reported $US30.7 billion, or $46 billion in our currency), the National Gallery denied Rinehart’s request to remove the painting, saying only: “The National Gallery welcomes the public having a dialogue on our collection and displays. We present works of art to the Australian public to inspire people to explore, experience and learn about art.”