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NSW Parliament has offered to better secure objects on public display in its forecourt after One Nation leader Mark Latham was alleged to have removed items from an exhibition and taken them into the Upper House.

The three exhibits were last Thursday reported missing from the exhibition that had been partly created as a life-affirming community project and to provide work opportunities for artists during early COVID lockdowns.

Nationals MP Sam Farraway confirmed that Latham had shown him two items, a book and a poster, while he was on duty in the chamber that day.

The book that was removed from the Parliament House exhibition.Credit: Janie Barrett

“He referred to them as coming from that wacky exhibition outside,” Farraway said. “Parliamentary officers then came in and put them back on display.”

But Latham denied in the Sunday Telegraph that he also removed a possum skin, part of an acknowledgment of country, that was returned to display by parliamentary officers, and said that he “briefly borrowed” the other two items.

Our Shared Futures curator Claire Marshall, said she had chosen not to accept Parliament’s offer made on Tuesday to place all items under perspex boxes.

Mark Latham denied he took the possum pellet from the exhibition.Credit: Janie Barrett

“Part of the shtick of this idea of my creative practice, the Museum of the Futures, is to break down the tropes of a museum and the division between object and viewer,” Marshall said.

“Some items are fragile and are placed under boxes while there are items like a book that you can flip open. We do encourage people generally to look but not touch.”

The exhibition’s sponsor is the Independent MP Alex Greenwich, who is separately suing Latham for defamation over an offensive social media post. He said the exhibition was a “cool, creative and thought-provoking” display in which people were invited to imagine the future.

“This is the first time in more than a decade in Parliament that I’m aware that a member has sought to take an item from an exhibition within the Fountain Court,” he said.

“It’s important for all members to treat the diversity of exhibitions in Fountain Court with respect because these are put on by organisations and individuals from across the state.

The poster that was removed from the Our Shared Futures exhibition. Credit: Janie Barrett

“Unfortunately, now because of the alleged conduct it seems that going forward exhibits need to be secured, now and into the future.”

The unique exhibition was four years in the making and asked 10 diverse communities to imagine life beyond the pandemic at a time of great uncertainty. These ideas were given to 11 artists to turn into an artwork or object. Each exhibit features an imagined “history” of how the future occurred.

Marshall said the exhibition was a beautifully considered project and invited the public to “come make their own mind up”.

“The exhibition asks you to imagine you had stepped into a museum in 2050 and it tells the stories of what happened between now and then,” she said.

“People are often bombarded by predictions of negative futures, of climate collapse and AI, and that can leave people in despair and this exhibition is an antidote to that.

“The future is not robots and flying cars. People want to be with each other, and in nature, to have more time together and spend less time at work.

“But I never thought we’d need to say, ‘don’t take the artwork’, especially in parliament.

“On one hand, we want to encourage conversations around this work, but I think it is disrespectful to take items from their placement, art that has been carefully created, handled, and installed. Given all the conversations around museums and galleries holding art and objects taken from other countries we can’t think that this is okay.”

Indigenous artist Michael Robinson, who co-created the work titled Yadingji which explores time from a First Nations’ perspective, said the possum skin was an item that held deep meaning and story for Indigenous people.

“With 251 years of taking from my people since first contact and the colonisation of what we now know of Australia, it’s a reminder that those who don’t want to break that chain and walk together, continue to just take what’s not theirs.

“I’m not in control of people’s choices. I can only hope to share what I can to bring closer my non-Indigenous brothers and sisters with a feeling of how we as Aboriginal people walk in our world of the oldest living continuation of culture and connection.”

A representative of the NSW Parliament said it worked closely with exhibitors prior to installation to determine the manner in which works would be displayed.

“This exhibition was designed to provoke thought and discussion. Visitors are invited to explore sculptures, objects and artworks depicting stories and events from possible futures. The display arrangements in place last week reflect those requested by the exhibitor.

“The Parliament continues to liaise closely with the exhibitor to determine the display arrangements, and will do so with all future exhibitors.”

A new work in the exhibition, based on visitors’ suggested future events, will be unveiled on June 21 attended by Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. The exhibition runs until June 29. Latham was contacted for comment.

Sydney Morning Herald subscribers can enjoy 2-for-1 tickets* to the Archibald, Wynne and Sulman Prizes exhibition at the Art Gallery of New South Wales during June 2023. Click here for more details.

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