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Art uproar mars Olympics handover for London

25.08.2008 21:01 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

A security guard looks at his watch in front of British artist Marcus Harvey's controversial painting of child murderer Myra Hindley in September 1997.

A portion of the Olympics handover celebrations in Beijing this weekend has sparked an uproar in the U.K., after a controversial painting was included in a montage promoting London.

Tourism agency Visit London has come under fire for including, amid footage of other works, British artist Marcus Harvey's massive portrait of child killer Myra Hindley in its short video showcasing well-known London landmarks.

A host of politicians, including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and London Mayor Boris Johnson, have blasted the portrait's inclusion in the tourism video, with Brown's office calling it "in extremely poor taste."

The video was played on a loop at a private party in Beijing attended by British politicians, 2012 Olympic officials and British athletes.

However, some viewers caught a glimpse of the video behind Brown and Johnson during speeches they gave during the party as footage was beamed back to the U.K.

Visit London defended the video as "a general, three-minute video of London in which an artwork by Marcus Harvey very fleetingly appears."

The footage "has been used many times over the last few years to show to the tourism trade," the group said, adding "there has never been a complaint made about the video up until this point. However, if any offence has been caused, we will withdraw it from use with immediate effect."

Hindley, who died in 2002 while serving a life sentence in prison for killing four children in the 1960s, remains a reviled figure.

Harvey's painting, which was created using the handprints of children, was exhibited at London's Royal Academy of Art in 1997. The exhibit was met with protests and attacked by vandals not long after going on display.

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