Artist faces child pornography charges

The recent federal elections may have overshadowed this latest art news out of Australia.

Australian artist, Paul Yore, was charged last week with producing and possessing child pornography. The charges were laid following the seizure by Victorian police of pieces of his art back in June of this year. The artworks were from one of his installations called "Everything's F..ked" - which was on display at a Melbourne gallery at that time.

One of Yore's allegedly pornographic pieces

The case is scheduled to be heard in the Melbourne Magistrates Court in November. If it goes to trial, it is likely to be a landmark case on the censorship of art.

Source: The Australian, 7 September 2013

Art v Law in Singapore

Widely reported in the last week is the arrest of Singaporean street artist Samantha Lo, known as SKL0 or the Sticker Lady.

Lo is said to be responsible for stickers which started appearing around Singapore, on traffic light buttons carrying slogans including "Press for good luck" "No need to press so hard"  "Press some more", as well as for spray painting slogans on roads.  

Singaporean police investigated the stickers and spray-painted slogans after the same were reported by the Land Transport Authority, identified SKL0 as the culprit, and arrested her for vandalism.

Under Singapore's Vandalism Act, a person who is convicted of vandalism shall be punished with a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding to 3 years and shall be liable to caning subjected to the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 – although, Lo could not be receive the latter penalty as corporal punishment is prohibited for women.

An online petition has been set up (here) which calls for:

• the Ministry of Home Affairs to downgrade the charges against Lo to a more minor offence (with a lesser penalty);
• the Ministry of Communication and the Arts to recognise SKL0's work as art not vandalism; and
• the Ministry of Education to address how they can claim to expand the arts education in Singapore while allowing arrests of public art, and what message they are sending in their arts education.

Obviously it seems harsh, particularly in light of all the street art we see in London, Europe and the US, for Lo to be liable for imprisonment.  It also does not appear to be disputed that Lo was seeking to be artistic, rather than to vandalise Singapore's public places. On the other hand, Singapore's harsh laws are well-known. Lo would clearly have been aware of the position in which she was putting herself and accepted the risks. Some might question the wisdom of pitting art against the law in a country like Singapore.  

Source: The Guardian, Huffington Post

Ai Weiwei arrest

While his porcelain sunflower seeds remain scattered across the turbine hall of the Tate Modern, the artist, Ai Weiwei remains in detention in China more than two weeks after he was arrested in Beijing.


As we reported here, Ai Weiwei's installation courted several legal problems when it opened in October 2010. These pale into insignificance however in the context of the artist's current position.

On 3 April 2011, the artist was detained at Beijing airport as he attempted to catch a flight to Hong Kong. The Chinese police have also searched his studio, confiscated his computers and questioned his assistants.

The Chinese foreign ministry has said that Ai is being investigated for economic crimes, but few further details have been supplied. However, as one of China's best known artists, known for his open criticism of the government, it seems that he has, contrary to the claims of the government, been targeted for his social and political campaigning. Indeed, in the weeks leading up to his arrest, numerous other Chinese artists, writers and online commentators were arrested and detained as the Chinese government continues to seek to quash all activists and dissidents. Further, Ai reported that he was being harassed at his Beijing studio and was under constant police surveillance. He said that the “reality of China” was that those who reflected on democracy, opening up, reform and reason were either detained or thrown into jail.

Nothing further has been heard from Ai Wei Wei since his arrest and his detention has triggered criticism from the EU, the US and other Western governments, as well as the UN's working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances. There have also been international protests staged in his support.

It is hoped that the international response to the denial of basic human rights to so many in China does not stop at criticism and that the international community starts taking action.


Source: The Guardian, 17 April 2011