Melbourne Premises Exhibits Child Nudes

By Ian Neubauer

A licensed premises in Melbourne has weighed into the controversial issue of child nudity in art by hosting an exhibition featuring photographs of naked children.

About 80 people turned up to an exhibition of 40 nude photographs of two 11-year-old boys held last night at the Loop Bar, an art space and bar in Melbourne’s CBD.

A spokesperson for the venue said two plain-clothed police officers attended the exhibition but did not see an issue with any of the work.

“There were no problems in the end. We did it because we are a project art space and we like people to exhibit what they want to exhibit as long as the work meets certain guidelines,” the spokesperson said.

The issue of nude child photography burst onto the national spotlight last month when Sydney police raided a gallery and confiscated 20 photographs featuring nude children taken by celebrated Australian artist, Bill Henson.

Police had sought to prosecute the artist but backed down after the Classification Board yesterday declared Henson’s images to be void of sexual content and context.

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[Wed 04/06/2008 01:40:21]