The National Portrait Gallery in Australia has removed a portrait of the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, from display following the Bali Nine executions because of concerns it could be defaced.
The portrait, taken by Australian photographer Adam Ferguson last year for a Time magazine cover headlined A New Hope, was removed on Wednesday, a few hours after Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran faced the firing squad alongside six other men.
Ferguson is in Nepal for Time and told Guardian Australia via email that he was “upset” and “perplexed” by the gallery’s decision to remove the portrait.
“The image has already received significant showing at the NPG so I am not upset merely because my image has been removed,” Ferguson said.
“I am though upset about the statement this makes about the NPG’s integrity and the support of visual art in Australia, despite how controversial [it may be]. I am totally perplexed that a leading Australian artistic institution like the NPG would take such action.”
Ferguson said the gallery should have taken the opportunity to engage in discussion about Australian-Indonesian relations, rather than hiding the image away.
“I would have thought that allowing people to engage with the photo that I created would be now more important given the circumstances,” he said.
The portrait was on display because it was a finalist in the national photographic portrait prize. It would have been removed in June.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the gallery’s director, Angus Trumble, said the portrait had been taken down as a preventive measure given the public outcry after the executions, but said there had not been any attempts to deface it.
“My feeling yesterday, on Wednesday morning, was that in view of the circumstances and our operations, and my best assessment of the risk of damage to the work of art, it was necessary to remove it from public display,” he said.
“Also, I was swayed by the statements of both the prime minister and the leader of the opposition and of course the position of the parliament and the recall of our ambassador. So it’s a temporary measure.”
Trumble said he disagreed with Ferguson’s criticism of the decision to remove the portrait, adding: “Adam and I continue to stay in touch during this fluid period.”
The prime minister, Tony Abbott, recalled Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia, Paul Grigson, shortly after the men were shot at 12.35am, announcing on Wednesday that ministerial contacts between the two countries were suspended after the “cruel and unnecessary” executions.
The Australian public has also reacted, with a campaign calling on Australian tourists to “Boycott Bali 4 the boys” already gathering 14,000 Facebook likes.
Tension between the two countries also prompted the former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to cancel a planned trip to Perth. He was scheduled to speak at the University of Western Australia’s US-Asia centre conference on Friday.
However, he tweeted on Wednesday: “When faced with the onslaught of protests and press inquiries, I may not be at odds with the state, the government and our president.”
The National Portrait Gallery has been contacted for comment.
