Artist arrested under obscenity law

Foots

(CNS): Well known local Cayman Brac artist, Ron “Foots” Kynes, has been arrested under a little used section of the Penal Code relating to obscenities. Foots is by no means the first Caymanian artist to stir up controversy with his work, but the public display of his latest sculpture, which reportedly depicts two women performing a sexual act, may not be legal in this jurisdiction under current laws.

Police said that the 63-year-old man was arrested under Schedule 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code (2017 Revision) in relation to the suspected breach of Section 157(1)(a) of the Penal Code (2017 Revision), also referred to as obscene publication.

They said the arrest was in relation to sculpture and artwork on his property that is in plain view of the public.

It is understood that Foots had displayed the art on his own property on the South Side of Cayman Brac but it had attracted complaints from people in the community.

Foots is known around the world to divers because his multi-piece underwater sculpture “The Lost City of Atlantis”, but this is not the first time his work has come under fire from Brac residents. Two years ago he was accused by neighbours of devil worshipping because of a 10-foot creation called “Mephistopheles Throne”, which included a dead goat’s head and was vandalised.

Last year his mini-depiction of missiles, pointing offshore, to mark the Cuban missile crisis also caused some community backlash.

Speaking to the media then, he said an “artist creates and the public judges”.