Hillary Clinton bikini mural covered with niqab after council threatens fine

The street artist responsible for the painting tells The Independent the council were attempting to censor his work

A renowned Melbourne street artist has covered his provocative mural of Hillary Clinton with a niqab after he was threatened with a council fine for not keeping with their stance on "gender equity".

In the original scantily-clad image, the Democrat presidential candidate is depicted in a revealing swimsuit with $100 notes pushed into the costume.

The council responded by threatening the owner of the building with prosecution and a fine if the mural, which was painted onto the side wall of a wheelchair and mobility scooter shop in Footscray, 5km west of Melbourne, was not removed.

Despite the council’s request for the image to be removed, the street artist Lushsux responded by covering Ms Clinton’s body with a niqab, leaving only her eyes showing, on Monday. The freshly painted mural included the caption: “If this muslim offends you, you are a bigot, racist, sexist, islamophobe”.

He also posted the new image on Instagram, writing: “This is no longer a wall of a supposed “offensive and near naked” Hillary Clinton, it is now a depiction of a beautiful Muslim woman. No reasonable person would consider this offensive.”

But Lushsux told The Independent the mural had already been cleaned off by the council. “It's been cleaned off by a thick layer of black paint courtesy of the council. They bullied the real estate agents that run the property into it,” he said. “They used intimidation to get their way.”

He argued it was “pathetic” the council were attempting to censor his work. Lushsux said the business were being asked to pay the costs of removal rather than him.

The artist also claimed his Instagram account was taken down for two days after posting the initial mural of Ms Clinton. However, he said he managed to get it back after informing the media what had happened.

Lushsux said his inspiration for the original image of Ms Clinton in a risque swimsuit had been "to take the piss, nothing more". While he had received a positive reception for the image, he explained feminists were less keen.

"Other than that I've heard and seen via the internet that a lot of people have enjoyed it. Feminists hate it, go figure," he said.

The artist did not say who he would be supporting in the forthcoming US elections but that he enjoyed poking fun at the system regardless.

Stephen Wall, the chief executive for Maribyrnong Council previously said that the council would consider further action if the mural wasn’t removed within the stipulated time frame.

“If the matter proceeds to prosecution, it would be through the Magistrate’s Court, which will determine any fine and damages to be paid,” he told local paper Herald Sun.

Wall said the original mural was “offensive” because it was not in keeping with the council’s stance on gender equity.

Lushsux is known for his provocative naked murals. He has also painted a mural of Donald Trump and his wife in Melania in Melbourne and a two-story nude of Kim Kardashian which the City of Sydney ordered to be removed.

Representatives for the council and Instagram did not immediately respond to request for comment.