According to the Star newspaper, artist Ayanda Mabulu's painting of Zuma wearing traditional attire and his penis exposed, entitled Umshini Wam is part of an exhibition called Our Fathers.

The exhibition also has works of artist Brett Murray whose controversial painting, The Spear, resulted in protests against Johannesburg's Goodman Gallery in May.

The Spear, another painting depicting Zuma with his genitals exposed, was later removed by the Goodman Gallery and the City Press website. The artwork was also classified with a rating of 16N by the Film and Publication Board because it displays nudity.

Mabulu's painting is priced at R75 000.

"He is not naked; I did not paint him with an uncircumcised penis. This is a metaphor that shows he is not a boy; he is a man, an elder, a father, a leader," Mabulu was quoted as saying.

"In this painting I'm engaging my elder in the language of my mother tongue, the language that carries the culture of my people, the language he understands the most.

"Through this painting, I respectfully, as one of his children, ask my father why he is starving us. Why he is negating his duties to his children, the citizens of South Africa."

Another of Mabulu's paintings was part of the discussion surrounding The Spear. People asked why there was no uproar over Mabulu's painting Ngcono ihlwempu kunesibhanxo sesityebi (Better poor than a rich puppet), which shows other world leaders in compromising poses, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu.