2016 – when politics got naked

What do Jacob Zuma‚ Mmusi Maimane‚ Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton all have in common?

They’ve all been portrayed in artistic nudes.

The Emperor Has No Balls

BRENDAN MCDERMID
People pose for selfies with a naked statue of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that was left in Union Square Park in New York. Picture by BRENDAN MCDERMID/ REUTERS.

An American artists’ collective created a series of nude statues of Donald Trump‚ which drew curious onlookers in the US.

• Naked Trump statues draw dozens of onlookers in US citiesAn artists' collective took credit for exposing Donald Trump to unflattering scrutiny on Thursday, saying it was responsible for a life-sized nude statue of the Republican presidential candidate that turned up in a New York City park. 

"These fleeting installations represent this fleeting nightmare and in the fall‚ it is our wish to look back and laugh at Donald Trump's failed and delusional quest to obtain the presidency‚" INDECLINE‚ the artists behind the statues‚ said in a statement.

They proved less than prophetic however – Trump ended up winning the most electoral college votes and is now set to take the presidency

Freedom of speech?

People look at a naked statue of U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Union Square in New YorkSHANNON STAPLETON
People look at a naked statue of U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Union Square in New York. Picture by SHANNON STAPLETON/ REUTERS.

Twenty seven year old artist Anthony Scioli responded to the Trump statue‚ by creating one of a hooved Hillary Clinton.

While the Trump statue in New York was greeted with giggles until it got taken down by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation‚ the Clinton statue received a much more passionate response.

According to the New York Daily News‚ people toppled the artwork and one witness claimed that a woman was assaulting anybody who tried to put it back up.

Officers from a counter-terrorism unit ordered Scioli to dismantle the statue.

The Pornography of Power

Roxanne Henderson
Artist Ayanda Mabulu stands in front of his controversial painting of President Jacob Zuma at Constitution Hill on 12 July 2016. Picture by Roxanne Henderson.

Ayanda Mabulu portrayed President Jacob Zuma engaged in annalingus with the Gupta family‚ proclaiming that his work reflected the truth about South African society.

• 'He's just a rubbish. Plain and simple'‚ says artist Ayanda Mabulu on latest depiction of ZumaControversial artist Ayanda Mabulu‚ known for painting President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed‚ has featured No1 in his work again. 

"I am talking about being f****d. We are being f****d by parliamentarians‚ we are being molested‚" Mabulu said.

The ANC wasn’t particularly charmed by the artwork.

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa declared it to be an abuse of freedom of speech‚ and a “blatant violation of the right to dignity of those portrayed”.

But Zuma wasn’t the only South African politician to get drawn in the buff this year.

Kenny Kunene has weird taste

Twitter/@Kenny_T_Kunene
Kenny Kunene poses with the painting he bought, which appears to show a naked Mmusi Maimane pulling a wagon carrying an equally undressed James Selfe and Helen Zille. Note: Image cropped from original shared on Twitter. Picture by Twitter/@Kenny_T_Kunene

Kenny Kunene tweeted an artwork which showed DA leader Mmusi Maimane as a nude slave pulling an also nude Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and DA federal executive chairperson James Selfe in a cart.

"I am now a proud owner of this masterpiece. Powerful storytelling through art. Thanks to the fearless artist‚" Kunene wrote.

He apparently put it up in his bedroom‚ so he could wake up to it every morning.

• Kenny on naked art: I've put it in my bedroom so I can wake up to it every morningOutspoken businessman Kenny Kunene has strongly defended his purchase of a controversial painting insisting that it depicts the "true nature" of the Democratic Alliance. 

While initially people thought the artist might have been Ayanda Mabulu‚ it turned out to be Iven Amali.

The response to the artwork mostly appeared to be to call Kunene an attention seeker‚ with Zille dismissing the work by saying‚ “Who cares?”

- TMG Digital