Stirring up discussion and posing questions are vital elements of artistic creations and significantly influence their value, controversial painter Giorgos Gavriel said on Wednesday.

“Art is not just meant to please our eyes, it often provokes, offends, awakens, shakes us, and troubles us, and every artist must feel free to express themselves, to speak about what they consider critical, even if it disturbs or shocks, because it is what often causes the necessary socio-political change,” he told the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Gavriel comment comes shortly after one of his artworks, depicting President Nikos Christodoulides dressed as a sex worker, sparked viral outrage on Monday.

The purpose of an artwork, Gavriel said, lies in its public exhibition, rather than in artistic value judged by experts. The artist had posted the controversial work on his Facebook account with the title “Cash only!”.

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He told CNA that the artwork in question had been created in the context of the recently leaked video, which suggested the president and several of his associates had broken the law regarding campaign finances.

“The work was produced within the current situation that was shaped by the release of the video, and each artist expresses himself according to the emotions and concerns that the events provoke in him, regardless of the reactions that will be provoked by the work,” he said.

Gavriel alluded to the societal role of artists, emphasising they were “sensitive receivers”, there to mirror society and political events, brushing off questions about whether pieces like his could potentially damage the president institutionally and as an individual.

“Unfortunately, the president does not need me to harm his institution, he is doing just fine on his own with his associates, based on what we saw in the video, but also with the policy he follows on various issues such as the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza,” he said.

Responding to the question whether his art violated limits of artistic expression, he replied that the limits of art were not defined by how offensive an artwork might be, but rather by its infringement on fundamental human rights.

“Art must be free to be able to provoke and problematise, and any attempt to limit this freedom is a blow to democracy itself and a setback for the entire society,” he said.

The recent outrage is just the latest in a series of criticisms the artist has faced, particularly after a planned exhibition of his works at a Paphos gallery was cancelled in December, following a collage of his works shared by Disy MP Efthymios Diplaros, in which the latter had provocatively merged bits of Gavriel’s paintings.