Swimming superstar Kyle Chalmers has emerged as one of the figures behind the push to have two portraits of mining magnate Gina Rinehart removed from the National Gallery of Australia (NGA).
Billionaire Rinehart has poured in almost $40 million since 2012 to help fund the pursuits of Australian swimmers through her company’s Hancock Prospecting Swimmer Support Scheme.
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Now some influential figures in the sport are leading the campaign to have two portraits of Rinehart removed from the Gallery that Australia’s richest person considers “offensive”.
The pieces in question, produced by Archibald Prize winning artist Vincent Namatjira, are a 2018 ink and pencil portrait and a watercolour that appears alongside a number of famous figures, including Queen Elizabeth II, Adam Goodes, Ned Kelly and Cathy Freeman.
Chalmers, 25, a two-time Olympian and six-time Games medallist, has campaigned on Rinehart’s behalf since he was alerted to her concerns in April.
“Being on the pool deck at the national championships, it was definitely the talk of the swimming pool and everyone throwing their support behind our patron that makes everything possible for us,” Chalmers told the SMH.
“I think she just deserves to be praised and looked upon definitely a lot better than what the portraits have made her out to be.
“Without her sponsorship, we would actually have nothing.”
Fellow swimmers Cate Campbell and Shayna Jack are among those that have previously voiced their support for Rinehart.
Swimming Queensland chief executive Kevin Hasemann helped organise a group of 20 elite swimmers for the campaign, which has so far been rebuffed by the NGA.
Hasemann wrote to the NGA last month expressing his organisation’s “deep concern” over the portraits.
“We respectfully urge you to reconsider the inclusion of these portraits in your galleries,” he concluded the letter.
Namatjira’s work is known for paintings that are caricatures of people in almost cartoonish forms.
One of King Charles, for instance, shows him in the Australian desert in full regalia with seemingly no neck.
“I paint the world as I see it,” Namatjira said on Thursday.
“People don’t have to like my paintings, but I hope they take the time to look and think, ‘why has this Aboriginal bloke painted these powerful people? What is he trying to say?’
“I paint people who are wealthy, powerful, or significant – people who have had an influence on this country, and on me personally, whether directly or indirectly, whether for good or for bad.
“Some people might not like it, other people might find it funny, but I hope people look beneath the surface and see the serious side too.”
The NGA has refused to move the paintings, including the watercolour, which will be on display until July 21.
It was hung in March as part of the Vincent Namatjira: Australia in colour exhibition which features 21 pieces of his work.
“Since 1973, when the National Gallery acquired Jackson Pollack’s Blue Poles, there has been a dynamic discussion on the artistic merits of works in the national collection, and/or on display at the gallery,” the NGA said in a statement.
“We present works of art to the Australian public to inspire people to explore, experience and learn about art.”