Child porn OK'd for public exhibit

Photographs of nude 13-year-olds confiscated by police from a Sydney, Australia, gallery have been returned following a flurry of objections from artists – including movie starlet Cate Blanchett – and a decision that successful prosecution under child porn laws was unlikely.

The exhibit was created by photographer Bill Henson, whose dark and dramatic imagery is studied in Australian schools. The photos prepared for display at the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery in the Sydney suburb of Paddington, however, focused on images of naked 13-year-olds.

Police seized 32 Henson photographs on May 23rd, following a complaint that the art constituted child pornography. Since then, police have investigated Henson art at three other New South Wales galleries, seized printed invitations featuring Henson's nudity photos and rounded up copies of Art World, a magazine featuring Henson's controversial pictures.

Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd weighed in on the action, calling the exhibit "revolting."

Also weighing in were Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and 42 other artisans who were part of a council on the arts convened by Prime Minister Rudd in April.

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In a letter addressed to the premier of New South Wales state, the artisans wrote, "The potential prosecution of one of our most respected artists is no way to build a creative Australia and does untold damage to our cultural reputation."

The letter also said that "we should remember that an important index of social freedom, in earlier times or in repressive regimes elsewhere in the world, is how artists and art are treated by the state." It defended Henson's photos as art, saying they have "nothing to do with child pornography."

If convicted of child pornography, Henson would have faced 10 years in jail. The New South Wales police, however, dropped the investigation and returned the photos, stating that "this is a complex area of law" and that "successful prosecution was unlikely."

Gallery director Roslyn Oxley expressed gratitude to the artisans and others who gave messages of support during the investigation, telling the Sydney Morning Herald, "These messages give us faith that our society really is as we believe it (to) be – one that is open to frank debate and inquiry and not afraid to voice differing views."

Among those differing views is Prime Minister Rudd, who has refused to retract his earlier criticism. "I said what my views are as a parent, I don't budge from that," he told Australia's Nine Network television.

Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson of Australia's Queensland state told ABC Radio in Brisbane that he believes criminal charges would have been justified. "I think that was over the line and I do think that was way beyond what normal community standards would be in terms of what's appropriate and what's offensive or not," he said. "If it happened here in Queensland, I'd support the prosecution."

Child welfare advocate Hetty Johnston, the woman who made the initial complaint against Henson's work, also voiced her objections. "This a picture of a naked 13-year-old child. We are just handing our children on a bloody plate to pedophiles," she told the Sydney Morning Herald. "This is a disgrace for this country, absolutely shameful."

The controversy was further complicated by a ruling from Australia's Classification Board, an independent statutory body of the Australian government that issues ratings to films, computer games and publications. The board reviewed five of Henson's photos – including the confiscated gallery invitation featuring a nude adolescent – and gave them a "PG" rating.

Despite the subject being 13 years old, the board ruled the "image of breast nudity…creates a viewing impact that is mild and justified by context…and is not sexualized to any degree." The Commission declined to enforce any restrictions on displaying Henson's photos.

The ruling and return of the photos clears the way for the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery to reopen its Henson exhibit, which was temporarily closed during the police action. Roslyn Oxley would not confirm whether or not her gallery would re-hang the returned photos.

A spokesman for the Albury Regional Art Gallery – another New South Wales gallery to have Henson photos taken down – said he expected their returned photos would be redisplayed in the future as a part of the gallery's collection.

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