A pair of bare-chested mermaid sculptures at a theme park in Indonesia have been covered with golden tube tops in an effort to respect “Eastern values.”
The mermaid sculptures have stood on the grounds of Jakarta’s Ancol Dreamland for nearly 15 years, but due to a new policy meant to increase respect for local values, the bare breasts have been covered, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The news agency reported the statues have also been moved to a more secluded area of the park because visitors kept pulling down the mermaids’ coverings.
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“Ancol is trying to become an amusement park and vacation spot for families,” Ancol Dreamland spokesperson Rika Lestari told AFP.
The spokesperson added there was no outside pressure from any organization for their decision to cover the mermaids.
“There was no pressure from any group,” she said.
The sculptor of the mermaids told BBC Indonesia the park is denying visitors “the beauty of arts products.”
“What they did was close public access to enjoy the arts,” Dolorosa Sinaga said.
A park visitor told the BBC they didn’t see the issue with the topless sculptures.
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“The statues didn’t disturb us,” Nanda Julinda told the BBC. “It’s weird to see art pieces being covered like that.”
“It’s located by the beach, and they are mermaids, and you wouldn’t see mermaids covered with cloth like that,” Taufik Ficky said.
As AFP notes, the parks spokesperson told Indonesian newspaper Kompas: “We’re Eastern people, we have Eastern culture… So what was inappropriate, we made it more appropriate.”