Artist Charles Zuill yesterday criticised Government for hiring an overseas artist to create a statue, calling the choice a “slap in the face.”The statue, a life size portrait of the late Dame Lois Browne Evans by Pennsylvania artist Zenos Frudakis, will be installed outside the new Magistrates' Court building on Court Street.Works Minister Derrick Burgess has said that Mr Frudakis was selected based on his reputation and his ability to create the statue at short notice and low cost.“In selecting Mr Frudakis to create the sculpture of Dame Lois, the Government meant no disrespect to any Bermudian artist whose work we value enormously,” Mr Burgess said.“In fact, the statue of Sally Bassett, the work of a Bermudian sculptor, graces the grounds of the Cabinet Building.“Quite simply, our decision to engage with Mr Frudakis was based upon his international reputation, his ability to deliver the sculpture on time, at relatively short notice, and the reasonable cost of his work.”In a letter sent to Premier Paula Cox, Mr Zuill said that local artists were not given the opportunity to be involved in an open contest.“I have been told that Bermudian sculptor Bill Ming was approached regarding this project, hence, I assume, the reported statement that Mr Frudakis was selected because he was $100,000 cheaper than a Bermudian bid,” Mr Zuill wrote.“However, it was never an open contest. How, therefore, is it possible to know what it might have cost for a local sculptor to have done it?“If Government is seeking a realistic, figurative work, there are at least a couple of other Bermudian sculptors, namely Carlos Dowling and Desmond Fountain, who could successfully carry out such an assignment, but they were never approached by Government or given the opportunity to bid on this project.“That it has gone to a non-Bermudian is perceived as contrary to the stated policies of the PLP regarding Bermudianisation and is a ‘slap in the face' of local artists.”He ends the letter asking if it would be possible to reconsider the assignment in order to open the bidding to more Bermudian artists, writing: “Considering that this is being paid for out of the public purse, this is the only fair thing to do.”