SYDNEY (AFP) — Police said Thursday they had visited the prestigious National Gallery of Australia in Canberra as part of a search for the works of an art photographer accused of producing child pornography.
Police in cities across Australia have been scouring galleries for photographer Bill Henson's work since a Sydney exhibition of his pictures was closed down last week because it contained images of nude 12- and 13-year-olds.
Henson -- whose work has been shown in New York, Paris and at the Venice Biennale -- is one of Australia's most sought after artistic photographers, with works hung in galleries across the country, including the NGA.
Smaller art institutions have also been caught up in the police sweep, with officers reportedly ordering one gallery in the regional New South Wales city of Newcastle not to exhibit two Henson photographs featuring nude teens.
Police have said they expect to prosecute Henson for obscenity but no charges have yet been laid, a week after the initial police raid in Sydney.
The investigation had stalled because Henson has refused to reveal the identity of the 13-year-old girl he photographed nude for the exhibit, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The artist was following legal advice not to speak to police on the grounds that he may incriminate himself, the newspaper said, quoting an unnamed police officer.
It said officers were trying to uncover the girl's identity and where she and her parents lived, suspecting they may be in Melbourne, Henson's hometown.
The rival Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that the girl had been identified but was refusing to cooperate with police. A police spokeswoman refused to comment on whether the girl had been found.
The issue has sparked a wide-ranging debate in Australia, involving everyone from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Hollywood star Cate Blanchett.
Rudd described the images as "absolutely revolting" shortly after the police raid and said Thursday that his view had not changed.
Blanchett signed an open letter from members of Australia's artistic community supporting Henson and saying the prospect of such a respected artist being charged "does untold damage to our cultural reputation".
Opposition Treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull has been one of the few politicians willing to defend Henson, saying he owns two of the artist's works, neither of which show naked teenagers.
"I don't believe that we should have policemen invading art galleries," Turnbull said Wednesday.
"I think we have a culture of great artistic freedom in this country and I don't believe the vice squad's role is to go into art galleries."
However, New South Wales state police chief Andrew Scipione disagreed, saying that, as a father, he had a very strong personal reaction to the images.
"I find it entirely offensive. I certainly found the images objectionable and it's probably best I leave it there," he told commercial radio Wednesday.
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