From ABC News:

Aboriginal protesters have forced the temporarily closure of an exhibition of paintings at the Wollongong City Gallery. The protesters say the images portray the denigration of Aboriginal people and are highly offensive.

The exhibition called No Country For Dreaming is by nine-times Archibald finalist Paul Ryan.

Aaron Broad Henry helped bring the exhibition to a temporary close.

“I find it very offensive for any man, not matter what colour this person is, to hold a head with an axe in his hand,” he said.

The CEO of the Illawarra Aboriginal Land Council, Sharralyn Robinson, is also appalled.

“I don’t find anything humorous about an Aboriginal boy hanging from a tree and the title saying, ‘the local boy just seen to be hanging around all day’,” she said.

Ryan – who is currently holidaying in Bali – says his intention was to highlight the patronising, exploitative and violent nature of Australia’s colonial past.

He says the paintings are intended to be thought-provoking, not offensive.

“And they are actually being very critical of the colonisers for the way that they treated the Indigenous Australians,” he said.

'...hang around all day'