Sydney council orders removal of huge nude Kim Kardashian mural

The adjacent mural picturing Kanye West locking lips with himself will however remain untouched

A two-story nude mural of Kim Kardashian has been ordered for removal by the City of Sydney.

Splashed across the exterior of Zigi's Art, Wine, and Cheese bar on Teggs Lane in Chippendale, the artwork depicts the nude star covering her body with her arm and hand. Rather unsurprisingly, its appearance caused a significant stir amongst area locals and international media; but the bar's owner Zigi Ozeri has now been told he has 14 days to remove the piece.

The move follows a formal complaint made to the City of Sydney by a neighbour who states they weren't consulted previous to the artwork's appearance, and who objected to the work's "content and colour"; furthermore, since Ozeri failed to submit the required development application in advance, he or the artist could face an additional $3,000 fine.

"Most new murals, including those commissioned by the City of Sydney, require development consent," a council spokeswoman told The Guardian. "This ensures the property owner consents to the mural and there is consultation with neighbours about what’s proposed."

The order won't, however, apply to the adjacent mural which appeared on the same day; an image by Sydney artist Scott Marsh of Kardashian's husband Kanye West engaged in a passionate embrace with himself, adapted from a Photoshopped photograph of the celebrity couple. This mural is yet to receive any formal calls for its removal.

Painted by Melbourne street artist lushsux (otherwise known as Mark Walls), the Kardashian artwork accompanies a similar mural in his hometown, which takes its basis from the viral nude selfie which was posted by the star last month. Though the Melbourne piece appears yet unthreatened with similar orders, as Walls claim the local council "love it know", it was vandalised with misogynistic language a mere eight hours after it was finished.

"It attracts a lot of attention, and much like Kim I don’t seem to mind that too much," Walls told Guardian Australia. "Anything that triggers someone to write an abusive epic rant in a comment section on the internet is good for business."

"The whole idea of what we do here is to support artists, and … just to make the lane livelier, rather than a dark, boring wall. We want to see bright colours, we want to see beautiful art."

"It’s art, and it’s made by a quite famous artist that came all the way from Melbourne," Ozeri said in defence of the mural; attributing its controversy not to the nature of the work's nudity, but to Kardashian's own divisive public standing. "[It’s because] she’s on the news, you know?... Maybe [we should] put a bra and undies on her, and then see if Kim Kardashian still offends someone."

The City of Sydney spokeswoman did state that changes in policy are being considered; specifically in the introduction of legal street art walls, new management proposals for unauthorised murals on private property, and the protection of significant pieces.