View source for King Neptune

{{Display censorship incident
|ongoing=no
|year=2016
|region=North America
|artist=Olek,
|subject=Political/Economic/Social Opinion
|confronting_bodies=Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA)
|medium=Installation, Public Art, Sculpture
|date_of_action=June-July 2016
|location=Virginia Beach, VA
|description_of_content=A temporary, crocheted covering for Paul DiPasquale’s original sculpture of King Neptune on the boardwalk at Virginia Beach. The work was commissioned by Virginia MOCA for its exhibition “Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose.” Olek and a team of volunteers fabricated the covering by hand.
|description_of_incident=When Olek made a last minute decision to add a gas mask to Neptune's face- an overt motif intended to provoke thought about the man-made harm done to the environment—the museum took down the artwork. Olek, who creates large-scale crocheted (and sometimes controversial) artworks, added the gas mask to drive home the message that human pollution has put our oceans and the future of the planet in jeopardy. MOCA officials claim that the addition of the aluminum and rubber gas mask, a structural base for additional crochet, was a breach of Olek’s contract, which specifies the use of environmentally friendly and recycled materials as a symbolic “testament to [the artist’s] commitment to the health of our planet's water.”
|description_of_result=Despite NCAC's attempts to help Olek and the museum reach an agreement, the temporary sculpture was not reinstated.
|image=Olek-KingNeptune.jpg
|source=https://www.instagram.com/p/BG36r1pBR4W/
}}
[https://www.instagram.com/p/BG36r1pBR4W/ OlekNYC: Did you know that about 70% of the word's oxygen come from the ocean?]

[http://pilotonline.com/entertainment/arts/exhibits/disagreement-between-city-moca-and-international-artist-strips-king-neptune/article_fe6a5a86-d1e8-5d27-865d-073345402eb4.html Disagreement between city, MOCA and international artist strips King Neptune statue of artsy new look, By Denise M. Watson Jun 15, 2016]

[http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/2016/06/18/who-is-that-masked-king-olek-and-virginia-moca-disrobe-neptune/#.V8h2xZMrLeT WHO IS THAT MASKED KING? OLEK AND VIRGINIA MOCA DISROBE NEPTUNE, June 18, 2016]

[http://ncac.org/blog/photo-virginia-moca-removes-gas-mask-from-artists-makeover-statue NCAC Statement: The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art Falls Short of its Mission by Cancelling Site-Specific Installation about the Environment]