KOCHI: A day after an artwork by Algerian-French artist Hanan Benammar was allegedly torn down at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery, police have launched a probe into what the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi has described as a “blatant act of intolerance.”

The incident occurred around 7 pm on Wednesday, when P.H. Hochimin, a Kochi-based sculptor, and his associate, Sudhamshu, allegedly entered the gallery, vandalised the artwork, and livestreamed the act on Facebook.

The destroyed linocut print, titled ‘Go Eat Your Dad’, was part of ‘Estranged Geographies’, an ongoing international exhibition organised by the Department of Cultural Affairs and the Akademi.

What appears to have provoked the attackers was the Malayalam translation of the artwork, which, according to protesting artists, used “crude a

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