Johannesburg – A controversial painting focusing on the Marikana shootings is back up at the First National Bank Joburg Art Fair after a protest by artists, eNCA reported on Saturday.

Ayanda Mabulu’s Yakhalinkomo – Black Man’s Cry was removed in the “interest of the artists, sponsors, buyers and audiences”, said the exhibition’s organisers.

But Mabulu’s fellow artists withdrew their pieces in protest. Mabulu’s painting is now back up, reported eNCA.

Mabulu told City Press that he received a call from his gallery, Commune1, on Thursday, the day of the opening of the fair, informing him that the painting would no longer be shown. 

The artist became infamous for painting President Jacob Zuma with his penis exposed – before Brett Murray did the same with The Spear. 

Yakhalinkomo depicts a kneeling miner with horns on his head, metaphorically representing a dying bull. He is being attacked by Zuma’s dog that signifies the police. Zuma, who is dressed in a suit during the blood sports, steps on another dying miner’s head.

News24