THE art world has denounced a "dark day in Australian culture" after police seized up to 21 photos of naked children and said they would lay charges over an exhibition by renowned Australian artist Bill Henson.
While Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described the works as "revolting" and devoid of artistic merit, the art community has come out strongly on the side of Henson, rejecting the accusation that his works are pornographic.
At 3pm yesterday, police announced charges would be laid under the NSW and Commonwealth crimes acts for publishing an indecent article.
It was unclear whether Henson or people from Sydney's Rosyln Oxley9 Gallery, which published several of the controversial images on its website and promotional material, would be charged.
Both Henson and gallery owner Roslyn Oxley went to ground. Henson is believed to be distressed by the charges.
"This morning, police have attended the gallery and executed a search warrant and seized several items depicting a child under the age of 16 years of age in a sexual context," Superintendent Allan Sicard told media gathered outside the gallery.
The Age believes that police are also examining previous work by the artist.
Police raided the gallery on Thursday night following a complaint that has since been revealed to have come from child sexual assault advocate Hetty Johnson.
Early yesterday the gallery released a statement saying it would remove some of the works and reopen the show.
"After much consideration, we have decided to withdraw a number of works from the current Bill Henson exhibition that have attracted controversy," the statement says.
"The current show, without the said works, will be reopened for viewing in coming days."
The gallery has not commented since it was announced charges would be laid.
Henson has been a prominent figure since his first show at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1975. His work is found in public, private and corporate collections, including the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian High Court. It is also held in several prestigious international galleries, including the Guggenheim in New York and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
Over the decades, his subjects have included crowds, landscapes and images of urban decay, but those that excite the most comment and controversy have been of adolescent bodies.
In his latest exhibition, seen by Fairfax journalists at an early viewing this week, photographs of naked children comprised about a third of the show. Most of the shots were taken from the waist up, although the genitals of the female model were visible in one image.
The Rosley Oxley9 Gallery in Sydney, Australia was raided by police over the weekend following complaints of child pornography. The complaints related to an exhibition of works by photographer Bill Henson, which included several photographs of naked pubescent children. Twenty-one of the forty photographs in the exhibition were seized during the raid, and police have announced that charges will be laid under the NSW Commonwealth and Crimes Act for "publishing an indecent article". Digital versions have also been removed from the Gallery's website.


Politicians on both sides of the fence spoke out against the exhibition. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, speaking to the Nine Network, said he found the photos to be "absolutely revolting ... Whatever the artistic view of the merits of that sort of stuff - frankly I don't think there are any - just allow kids to be kids." His Opposition counterpart, Brendan Nelson, believes that the exhibition "violates the things for which we stand as Australians and indeed as parents".

Art experts have supported Henson and defended his work, denying claims of child pornography and exploitation. According to Betty Churcher, a former director of the National Gallery of Australia, "there is absolutely no suggestion of pornography in these photographs". Sydney art dealer Denis Savill hung one of Henson's works, featuring two nudes, in his gallery window beside an Arthur Boyd nude, to "give them something to grizzle about".

According to Tony Oxley, husband of gallery owner Roslyn, the gallery's answering machine has recorded several threats to burn the building down. The police action also calls into question the fate of similar works by Henson in other galleries in Australia and around the world.