Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery to display child pornography.

[darrinh]

Opening tonight at the elegant Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in the heart of Paddington is an exhibition of photographs by Bill Henson, featuring naked 12 and 13 year-olds.

The invitation to the exhibition features a large photo of a girl, the light shining on her hair, eyes downcast, dark shadows on her sombre, beautiful face, and the budding breasts of puberty on full display, her hand casually covering her crotch.

Such images presenting children in sexual contexts are so commonplace these days they seem almost to have lost the capacity to shock.
smh

Why isn't this considered child porn? If these same images were found on a home computer, the owner would be deservedly prosecuted as a pedophile.  Feel free to contact the filth-mongers who run the gallery, perhaps a protest is in order?

They are displaying the images on their website.  Roslyn Gallery is displaying child pornography on their site, its unbelievable, the site and the gallery needs to be shutdown.

Feel free to email their hosting provider - http://openhosting.com/contact - ( abuse@openhosting.com) as the images are in violation of their TOS.

[darrinh]

Police have temporarily shut down a controversial photography exhibition in Sydney  which features sexualised images of naked girls as young as 11.

The exhibition, by well-known Australian photographer Bill Henson, was due to be launched at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, in Paddington, tonight however the opening has been delayed after police intervened.

Officers have spoken with Mr Henson and the operators of the gallery.

A police investigation is underway, with at least one of the subjects and her parents to be interviewed.

Child abuse protection groups have already expressed their outrage that such images could be created, let alone displayed.

CEO of Childwise, Bernadette McMenamin, has told LIVENEWS.com.au she's disgusted that such pictures could be condoned.

"People are concerned that children are being exploited in advertising, on the internet, etc," she said.

"This to me sounds like an example of where children are being sexualised for the sake of art, for the sake of publicity.

"My concern is this will stimulate people who fantasise about children and view them as sexual objects... I also have concerns that if these images are on the internet they will be viewed by paedophiles around the world."

Representatives from the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery originally agreed to talk to LIVENEWS.com.au about the exhibition but have since withdrawn the offer.
livenews.com

While some might consider the show confronting, there is no hint of polemic or provocation from Henson. "I've worked with people this age for many, many years," he says. "They seem to be the most effective vehicle for expressing the things that interest me about humanity and vulnerability and our sense of ourselves living inside our bodies."


A 53 year old man taking pictures of naked 12 and 13 year old girls.  sick bastard.

[darrinh]

The site has been yanked.  It appears they were booted from their hosting provider and have moved their domain to lmi.net, which is located in Berkeley, California ( www.roslynoxley9.com.au (66.117.154.119) - which is strangely appropriate, given the things that on there!

[darrinh]

POLICE armed with a search warrant are raiding the Paddington art gallery on suspicion that some of the artworks depicting young children have broken the law.

Officers from Rose Bay police and the State Crime Command’s elite Child Protection and Sex Crimes Squad arrived at the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery in Soudan Lane at 11.30am.

A staff member opened the gallery door and allowed police entry.

It is believed police will seize any items - including those by photographer Bill Henson - which they believe break child pornography laws or indecency laws.

Naked photographs of children as young as 12 were today removed from the controversial exhibition as police moved to interview the young models and their parents.
Daily Telegraph

[darrinh]

POLICE say they expect to lay charges after seizing more than 20 photographs from a controversial exhibition in Sydney that features images of naked 12- and 13-year-old girls.

Rose Bay Local Area Commander Allan Sicard said NSW Police expected to prosecute over the images by artist Bill Henson, which were to go on display at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington last night.

The exhibition was shut down just before it was due to open.

"Police are investigating this matter and it is likely that we will proceed to prosecution on the offence of publish an indecent article under the Crimes Act," he told reporters today.

He would not specify who was likely to be charged.
Daily Telegraph

[AntiState]

Hmm, it's a fairly interesting affair.

The way I see it, the human form is a beautiful thing but this exhibition touches a fine line. My parents have photos of me and my siblings playing naked in bubble baths, some of the photos I'd say are quite artistic. In the photos I'd probably be maximum 2-3; I don't feel violated or exploited, though I probably wouldn't want them hanging up on my 21st. As for displaying photos of 13-14 year old girls, fully naked with little depth to images besides of their nudity, I fail to see the artistic quality.

It does spring to mind that these images are adding to the sexualisation of youth, which is obviously a very dangerous issue for future psychological wellbeing. It also opens up a pandoras box on what is appropriate and what is child pornography; NAMBLA would go on a field day if these exhibitions were commonplace.

Whether Bill Henson is a paedophile or not is highly questionable. I'd say his intentions were good, he was trying to display a youthful female form but I don't think the photos are appropriate for a public gallery. All in all, it's not something I want to see and it's definitely not something I'd want deemed appropriate in my community.

[darrinh]

Charges will be laid against Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, for exhibiting photographs of naked young girls by artist Bill Henson.

20 out of 41 images on display in artist Bill Henson's latest exhibit have been confiscated from the Roslyn Oxley Gallery at Paddington.

Superintendent Alan Sickard says they believe the gallery has broken the law.

“Police are investigating this matter and it is likely that we will proceed to prosecution on the offence of publishing an indecent article under the crimes act.

“It is likely that a future court attendance notice will be issued for this offence…”

The images are of naked girls as young as 12, and police are investigating whether they breach child pornography laws.

While the images won’t be shown anymore at the exhibition, they’re already in the public domain.

An invitation to the opening of the exhibition hangs in the window of a building across the road with a photograph of a topless young girl.

Many politicians have spoken out about the exhibition - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described it as “absolutely revolting”.

Opposition Leader Brendan Nelson has also weighed into the debate saying he doesn't care if the photos were in the name of "art" -- they shouldn't have been taken.

“In my view it’s the right stand to say, it is wrong to use young people in this way. And I don’t care if it’s in the name of art or anything else, enough is enough and it’s time for us to take a stand.”

The exhibition will reopen once the controversial images have been removed.
LiveNews.com.au

[darrinh]

Hmm, it's a fairly interesting affair.

The way I see it, the human form is a beautiful thing but this exhibition touches a fine line. My parents have photos of me and my siblings playing naked in bubble baths, some of the photos I'd say are quite artistic. In the photos I'd probably be maximum 2-3; I don't feel violated or exploited, though I probably wouldn't want them hanging up on my 21st. As for displaying photos of 13-14 year old girls, fully naked with little depth to images besides of their nudity, I fail to see the artistic quality.

It does spring to mind that these images are adding to the sexualisation of youth, which is obviously a very dangerous issue for future psychological wellbeing. It also opens up a pandoras box on what is appropriate and what is child pornography; NAMBLA would go on a field day if these exhibitions were commonplace.

Whether Bill Henson is a paedophile or not is highly questionable. I'd say his intentions were good, he was trying to display a youthful female form but I don't think the photos are appropriate for a public gallery. All in all, it's not something I want to see and it's definitely not something I'd want deemed appropriate in my community.

The best way to consider it is to think about whether you would want your 11,12 or 13 year old daughter publicly exposed in the same way.  These photographers usually take hundreds of shots, so what has Henson done with all others and further more, what pervert would buy such "art" to hang on their wall? Would you want your naked daughter's picture hanging on some rich perverts living room wall?

[FairDinkum]

Whether Bill Henson is a paedophile or not is highly questionable. I'd say his intentions were good, he was trying to display a youthful female form but I don't think the photos are appropriate for a public gallery. All in all, it's not something I want to see and it's definitely not something I'd want deemed appropriate in my community.

I'd assume (or hope) that he is not a paedophile. Of course, that doesn't mean that it's ok to take nude photos of young teenagers.

I am all for freedom of speech, but that is a different matter - if someone wants to advocate legalising such photos then, even though I would totally oppose them, I would still recognise their right to advocate their ideas. But this is not speech, this is doing - a totally different ballgame.

It's one thing to have photos of your own young kids when they were 2 years old in the bath, thats family snapshots. It's one thing to have photos of an anthropological nature (e.g. National Geographic shots of some tribal people).

But to display nude photos of under-age girls is, as you say, "definitely not something I'd want deemed appropriate in my community".

[Bad Skip]

Since the exhibition was cancelled, did the girls have to give back the boiled lollies? 

[Casapound]

interesting discussion here.

Personally I feel that its a cultural issue, if we lived in a culture where such depictions of the human form were NOT used by filthy and depraved persons to satisfy carnal lusts apon innocents then It would be perfectly O.K and reasonable to exhibit as artistic examples of the beauty of the human form.

Sadly we do not live in such a culture, or indeed might some argue such a world.

So these exhibits are not only in bad taste, but sadly, dangerous. And If I had a vote on whether I wanted them displayed to the public in my community I would have to say no.

Not because the human forms of 12 or 13 year olds are inherently "dirty" but merely as a recognition that there are predators who feast apon the the broken lives of innocents out there.

I think the artist needs to be let off with a warning since I see no evidence that his intent was anything but artistic, and as those of us who know artists are aware that quite a few of them live in worlds consisting entirely of the insides of their heads.

But it needs to be made clear to the community at large and to the artistic community in specific that things such as this are not acceptable to the vast majority of the wider community.

[AntiState]

interesting discussion here.

Personally I feel that its a cultural issue, if we lived in a culture where such depictions of the human form were NOT used by filthy and depraved persons to satisfy carnal lusts apon innocents then It would be perfectly O.K and reasonable to exhibit as artistic examples of the beauty of the human form.

Sadly we do not live in such a culture, or indeed might some argue such a world.

So these exhibits are not only in bad taste, but sadly, dangerous. And If I had a vote on whether I wanted them displayed to the public in my community I would have to say no.

Not because the human forms of 12 or 13 year olds are inherently "dirty" but merely as a recognition that there are predators who feast apon the the broken lives of innocents out there.

I think the artist needs to be let off with a warning since I see no evidence that his intent was anything but artistic, and as those of us who know artists are aware that quite a few of them live in worlds consisting entirely of the insides of their heads.

But it needs to be made clear to the community at large and to the artistic community in specific that things such as this are not acceptable to the vast majority of the wider community.

Kudos to you mate. That post summed up my feelings much better than the post I made. In the ideal world, a 14 year old girl is simply an example of youthful beauty, not a sexualised object. It is a sad reality that to some depraved faqers out there, children are something to exploit and lust over.

I agree, give him a stern lecture and make it clear to everyone else that this stuff isn't appropriate.

[darrinh]

The Law Society of NSW has backed embattled artist Bill Henson, who could face charges after police seized his latest gallery images which feature nude children.

Society president Hugh Macken today said he could not see how a crime had been committed, and police prosecutors would have to argue the renowned Melbourne-based artist had intended to produce something other than art.

"What is relevant to the commission of a crime is the intention," Mr Macken told reporters in Sydney today.

"If the intention is to produce a work of art, and solely to produce a work of art, then I can't see how a crime has been committed."

Officers raided the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, in Paddington in Sydney's eastern suburbs, just before the exhibition was due to open on Thursday night.

They seized 20 of Henson's images which feature a naked girl and boy said to be aged 12 to 13.
smh

A den of iniquity if there ever was one.

[darrinh]

Gallery under angry siege

THE owner of the Sydney art gallery at the centre of a storm over photographs of naked teenagers was holed up inside it yesterday after receiving violent threats.

Messages left on the answering machine at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in the inner-city suburb of Paddington threatened to "burn the building down".

The owner, Roslyn Oxley, remained in the gallery yesterday after police on Friday seized photographic works by world renowned artist Bill Henson.

The seized photos depicted boys and girls, some as young as 12, naked in dark, moody photographs.

The police removal of the photographs provoked a nationwide outcry over the sexualisation of children in the media and art worlds.

Yesterday Tony Oxley, the shaken husband of Roslyn, spoke outside the gallery where his wife was rehanging the remaining photographs of the exhibition - for a possible reopening as early as Tuesday - before flying to an art fair in Switzerland.

"There are some crackpots out there," Mr Oxley said. "They have left threats on the phone. We have had threats to burn the building down. It is very worrying."

He said the artist was taking the issue very hard, and he and Ms Oxley were concerned about his welfare.
smh

This is what happens when some in the community feel they have no other recourse. I do not condone violent activity such as this, but it has happened before elsewhere:

Vandals attack Serrano photo exhibit in Sweden

This was no joke or acting stunt. It was what actually happened on a quiet Friday afternoon in Lund, a small university town in southern Sweden where "The History of Sex," an exhibition of photographs by the New York artist Andres Serrano, had opened two weeks earlier.

Around 3:30, half an hour before closing time, four vandals wearing black masks stormed into a space known as the Kulturen Gallery while shouting in Swedish, "We don't support this," plus an expletive. They pushed visitors aside, entered a darkened room where some of the photographs were displayed and began smashing the glass protecting the photographs and then hacking away at the prints.

The bumpy video, evidently shot with a hand-held camera by someone who ran into the gallery with the attackers, intersperses images of the Serrano photographs with lettered commentary in Swedish like "This is art?" before showing the vandals at work.
Herald Tribune

[darrinh]

The Federal Government believes the problem of the sexualisation of children in all forms of media needs to be addressed, as controversy over an art exhibition featuring naked young teen girls continues.

Police raided the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, in Paddington in Sydney's eastern suburbs, just before the exhibition of Bill Henson's works was to open on Thursday.

Officers seized 20 of Henson's images, which feature a naked girl and boy said to be aged 12 and 13 years old.

State and federal charges are expected to be laid over the exhibition, and the investigation has moved interstate with the girl depicted in the pictures believed to be in Victoria.

[...]

Federal Families Minister Jenny Macklin said both parents and policymakers had to draw a line in the sand on the issue.

"I think this sexualisation of children is wrong," she told the Nine Network today.

"I don't agree with the photographs, but I also don't agree with the way in which children are being bombarded in many other places, whether it's billboards, whether it's on children's television.

"Children these days are just getting bombarded with sexualised images all the time, and it's that sexualisation of children that I think is wrong."

Ms Macklin said the Federal Government would attempt to address what she described as "very, very difficult issues" through the national framework.

The minister today launched a discussion paper aimed at prompting a debate about what the Federal Government should be doing to better protect children from abuse and neglect. The paper will form the basis for a National Child Protection Framework.
smh