Picture of Erdogan with banana up his rear in German art expo causes controversy (photo)

The German consulate reportedly applied pressure for the exhibit to be removed

The main feature of a new art exhibition called the ‘banana sprayer’ by Thomas Baumgärtel in Dellbrück, Cologne in Germany shows a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan bending over with his trousers off, with a banana coming out of his rear.

Baumgärtel took to Facebook on Sunday to post that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had attempted to prevent the picture from being displayed at the art installation. Apparently, the Turkish Consulate General even tried to apply pressure on the city, which supports the exhibition, not to display the unflattering picture of the Turkish President, Bild reports.

The city of Cologne has denied this claim and has asked Baumgärtel to remove the statements on his website and Facebook page.

During her opening statements for the exhibition catalog, Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reker writes: “In 2016 Baumgärtel published a picture of Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the social media channels with a banana in the ‘Allerwertesten’. This action was not uncontroversial, but I like people who express their opinions strongly and consistently and Baumgärtel has always remained faithful to his iconography.”