The irreverent, unrepentantly political Northern Irish rap trio Kneecap welcomed a particular visitor onto the stage of its present in Melbourne, Australia, over St. Patrick’s Day weekend: the top of King George V, which gave the impression to be a lacking piece of a statue that was decapitated within the metropolis final 12 months.
“Some madman dropped by with an enormous King George’s head so he may hear a number of tunes for our final Melbourne present!” the group posted on Instagram, alongside {a photograph} of the big bronze face onstage in entrance of one of many group members, Mo Chara.
It was the most recent twist in a monthslong thriller, after a towering statue of King George V within the King’s Area space of Melbourne was decapitated and vandalized with paint final June, a part of a wave of anticolonial vandalism that focused imperial statues throughout the state of Victoria. The lacking head appeared to briefly reappear in January, when a video posted on Instagram confirmed it on a barbecue grill, lit on hearth. But it surely has been lacking, once more, ever since.
“Allegedly his head was lower off final 12 months within the metropolis..…anyhow he was placed on stage for a number of tunes after which whisked away,” the group wrote in its publish. “Bear in mind each colony can fall 🔥”.
Kneecap — a trio composed of the West Belfast musicians Mo Chara, Moglai Bap and DJ Provai — has raucously burst into the mainstream over the previous 12 months with a critically acclaimed, truth-adjacent biopic. The group is thought for its high-volume Republican politics and gleefully inebriated exhibits, wherein its frontman, Bap, frequently seems shirtless and slugging from a bottle of Buckfast, a budget tonic wine that could be a common Irish touchstone for a messy night time out.
Central to the group’s ethos are anti-colonialist politics and promotion of the Indigenous language. Bap, Chara and DJ Provai carry out in each Irish and English, they usually have spoken usually concerning the significance of selling and preserving the Irish language, which was banned throughout the island throughout British occupation.
The group has much less courted controversy than openly promoted it: Across the identical time that King George V’s head was separated from the statue, the group tore by way of the British Museum in London, putting Kneecap-branded “Stolen from Eire” stickers on numerous artifacts.
Kneecap didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The police in Melbourne confirmed that they have been nonetheless investigating the decapitation of the statue and that they have been conscious of its doable latest weekend out.
“Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives proceed to analyze harm to a statue in Kings Area final 12 months,” the police stated in a press release. “Investigators are additionally conscious that the top from what seems to be a statue appeared at a live performance in Melbourne on 14 March. Detectives will examine whether or not there may be any hyperlink between the 2 incidents.”
The statue was decapitated final June throughout a vacation begun to have a good time the British king’s birthday. Australia established itself as an impartial commonwealth in 1901 and formally severed any remaining ties to Britain in 1986. It has a protracted connection to Eire and Northern Eire and is dwelling to one of many island’s most strong diasporas.
