Nando’s took down a piece of artwork from one of their restaurants after a customer claimed it depicted British soldiers ‘arranged in a swastika.’
Paul Watson, 58, dined at the Wallsend branch of the fast food chain in Tyneside last month and took offense at a picture on the wall showing four soldiers pointing guns, allegedly forming a swastika, inside a star and flower pattern.
Mr Watson, a former artilleryman, insisted the soldiers in the picture were British, and claimed the painting depicted soldiers ‘like a Nazi.’
After submitting a complaint, Nando’s stated that the artwork was created by an unknown South African artist as part of a scheme to showcase the country’s emerging creators, and had been hanging in the restaurant since 2013 without incident.
The restaurant apologized for any offense they may have caused and removed the painting without complaint.
Mr Watson, from Fenham, Newcastle, initially tweeted Nando’s with a picture of the artwork, asking: ‘Any particular reasons this picture depicting British troops as a swastika flag is hanging in your restaurant at the Silverlink in Tyne and Wear?’
The engineer, who served six years in the Armed Forces including a tour of Northern Ireland, later said: ‘It’s done my head in. I had to ignore it for the meal. I’m made of sterner stuff than to move but I just didn’t like it being there.
‘I was pretty annoyed and thought it was bang out of order. It’s wrong and it angers me whether it’s innocent or not. It’s really offensive to see it in public. Someone should have picked up on that straight away. That’s not art.’
![PIC FROM Kennedy News and Media (PICTURED: PAUL WATSON'S ANGRY TWEET ABOUT THE ARTWORK) Nando's have been shamed into removing one of its restaurant's paintings after an angry army veteran accused them of 'branding British armed forces as Nazis' - as it depicted soldiers 'in the shape of a swastika'. Paul Watson had sat down to eat at the Wallsend branch in Tyneside on Monday [April 1] when he noticed a controversial canvas hanging on a wall to his left. The 58-year-old's photo shows the square canvas artwork depicting four soldiers facing outwards from a circle and pointing guns - creating the 'shape of a swastika'. DISCLAIMER: While Kennedy News and Media uses its best endeavours to establish the copyright and authenticity of all pictures supplied, it accepts no liability for any damage, loss or legal action caused by the use of images supplied and the publication of images is solely at your discretion. SEE KENNEDY NEWS COPY - 0161 697 4266](https://www.plazajournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/upload-1154.jpg)
He added: ‘It seemed like they were saying the Armed Forces are Nazis. I was sitting next to it and when I looked across I had to look twice. I thought it was a swastika straight away.’
‘I was pretty annoyed and thought it was bang out of order. All these lads who go out and die, then they’re depicted like a Nazi.
‘It’s wrong and it angers me whether it’s innocent or not. It’s really offensive to see it in public.’
A Nando’s spokesperson said: ‘We commission the art in our restaurants from up and coming South African artists, the country in which we were founded, and they are all one of a kind.
‘We recognize that art is subjective and our intention is never to offend. We have removed it from display and apologize for any offense caused.
They added: ‘We source the art in our restaurants from up-and-coming artists in South Africa, the country in which we were founded, and they are all one of a kind.
‘This small piece was part of a bigger display along with 16 others and was in the restaurant for over a decade. It has now been removed from display.'
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