COWEN-GATE artist Conor Casby had previously painted portraits of former Irish taoiseach Bertie Ahern, British prime minister and US president George Bush, all of which showed the men's genitalia.

The 35-year-old teacher also told the Sunday Tribune that the gardaí had told him he was highly unlikely to face prosecution over his now notorious prank, where he hung unflattering portraits of Brian Cowen at the National Gallery and the Royal Hibernian Academy three weeks ago.

Casby has made a habit of painting public figures in embarrassing poses and was responsible for a far more explicit picture of Bertie Ahern (above) as a pregnant nude complete with large breasts and his genitalia exposed.

The bizarre picture, which appeared on the front page of the Sunday Tribune in 2003 and in which Ahern appears grossly deformed, was offered for sale at the Merrion Square public art sale a number of years ago along with another portrait of George W Bush and Tony Blair. At first glance, Blair and Bush appear to be standing in front of the Statue of Liberty but on closer examination both are exposing themselves and have their trousers unzipped.

Casby, who was yesterday keeping a low profile, spoke earlier in the week to the Sunday Tribune and said: "I've been told that it is over and done with as far as they are concerned.

"As far as I'm concerned, the paintings speak for themselves... I have already spoken to the gardaí and would prefer not to comment.

"In terms of the arguments going on in the media now, I think they're less and less to do with me. As much as I can say about it is that it's interesting for me to see things like this develop through the media from a viewpoint other than that of [a] punter."

Gardaí – and the Sunday Tribune – had access to a clear CCTV image of Casby but no attempt had been made to track him down until the controversy over RTÉ's apology made global headlines.

The stunt, the story, the nut and the hammer,
pages 10&11