WATCH | 'Demonic art' at KZN Christian private school gets Mzansi talking

A top KwaZulu-Natal private school has come under fire for displaying “satanic” and “demonic” artwork done by one of its students.

The artwork by a matric pupil was displayed at Grantleigh High School's end-of-year art exhibition.

Among other things, the exhibition depicted Jesus Christ as a clown and the artwork also includes horned figures made of paper maché using pages from a Bible.

A viral video was posted on social media by Richards Bay pastor Andrew Anderson who was attending his child's last day at school.

Anderson called the artwork a disgrace, saying it's “demonic” and “blasphemous”.

“The picture says it all, you will get people who will say that that is art. That is not art, that is absolutely completely a mockery of someone else’s faith,” said Anderson.

Grantleigh High School is an independent school and a member of the Curro Group that prides itself on its “Christian ethos”.

After receiving backlash from social media, the school issued a statement.

TimesLIVE reported that the school’s executive head Andrew Norris said he was aware of the social media outcry.

“The project filmed and featured is part of a final submission to the Independent Examination Board and was displayed in the school foyer as part of a year-end exhibition,” he said.

Norris said the school’s management had taken notice of Anderson’s allegations.

“The matter is currently subject to an internal investigation. We want to reiterate that comments made are not an accurate reflection of our school and the situation referred to and we reserve our rights in this regard.”

Reactions

Some social media users agree with Anderson, while others argued that the artwork was an artistic expression.

Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions: