Dilek O'Keeffe, the artist who painted 'Consumerism 2 - Talent' featuring a likeness of Kylie Minogue’s bum, has painted an amended version following the withdrawal of the original by the Royal Academy in London, after Minogue Inc claimed her copyright was infringed over the unauthorised use of her image. Dilek has painted a revised version and is demanding the Royal Academy replace the original Minogue painting with the not so flattering (and admittedly not so recognizable) image.
Dilek said: "There is no excuse for the Royal Academy continuing to exclude the work from the Summer Exhibition. The RA are supposed to stand up for artistic innovation, integrity and cultural freedom of expression. It's a scandal if today's RA are just one more institution that lies down under pressure from corporate and commercial interests. The storm over ‘Consumerism 2 – Talent’ and how the RA and the lawyers acted confirmed the point in my work - corporate brands manipulate culture, imagery and PR so we consume what they want to sell us. If this requires threats, spin and slurs to gag free expression, then so be it."