Henson exhibition shut down 【Sydney Mornign Herald 2008/05/23】

Henson exhibition shut down – Arts – Entertainment – smh.com.au
Henson exhibition shut down

Photographer Bill Henson.

Photographer Bill Henson.
Photo: Adam Hollingworth
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Paul Bibby
May 23, 2008

The opening night of an exhibition by the photographer Bill Henson featuring images of naked children was dramatically cancelled after police visited the Paddington gallery to investigate child pornography claims.

The future of the exhibition at the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery, which featured images of a girl and a boy, aged 12 and 13 – some of which also appear on the gallery’s website – is now in doubt.

Superintendent Allan Sicard from Rose Bay local area command cancelled the opening after consulting the gallery owners. The future of the show was yet to be decided.

Talkback radio switchboards were swamped with calls after the Herald wrote about the exhibition yesterday.

The gallery’s owner, Roslyn Oxley, said she had been showing similar work by Henson since 1990 “and they have never offended people”.

Asked by Channel Seven if she would let her daughter pose for Henson, she said: “She’s been in some of his shots.”

Henson said last night he was determined the exhibition should go ahead.

One artist who attended the exhibition opening, Eugenia Raskopoulos, said the cancellation was “censorship of the worst kind”.

“I cannot believe that they have cancelled this opening which features pictures that are honest and beautiful and in no way pornographic,” she said.