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2008/15: Should Bill Henson be prosecuted and his work banned?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right: ABC TV's 7.30 Report on allegations of pornography and child abuse around the work of photographic artist Bill Henson. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because YouTube is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows YouTube clips.
What they said ...
'That we can't prosecute the commercial sexual exploitation of children in this country is an absolute disgrace'
Hetty Johnston, anti-child abuse campaigner
'The court is not the place to decide matters of art'
Betty Churcher, former director of the National Gallery of Australia
The issue at a glance
Bill Henson is an internationally renowned Australian photographic artist.
On 22 May 2008, the opening night of Henson's 2007-2008 exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington, Sydney, was cancelled.
Hetty Johnston, a child protection campaigner, had lodged a complaint with the New South Wales police about the exhibition, which was to include images of naked adolescents,
On 23 May, 2008, it was announced that a number of the images in the exhibition had been seized by police local area commander Alan Sicard, with the intention of charging Henson with 'publishing an indecent article' under the Crimes Act. The seized images were also removed from the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery's website.
After police visits, the Albury gallery removed three prints from exhibition and the Newcastle Region Art Gallery took down four from its office walls. None was taken away by police.
In Canberra, the Australian Federal Police seized a number of prints in storage at the National Gallery and left them, secured, on the premises.
On June 6, 2008, the New South Wales Director of Public Prosecutions announced that Bill Henson would not face charges as there was no reasonable prospect of a conviction.
The Board of the Office of Film and Literature Classification had ruled that the photograph that triggered the initial complaint was not pornographic. The Board has ruled the image is mild and 'not sexualised to any degree'. It has given it a PG rating, meaning people under 16 might need parental guidance when viewing it. Similar rulings were made in relation to other disputed Henson photographs.
Critics of Henson's work are not satisfied. Anti-child abuse campaigner, Hetty Johnston, from the Bravehearts group, claimed, 'This is a big green light for the commercial sexual exploitation of our children.'
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