A Moscow exhibition by American photographer Jock Sturges has been closed, with critics claiming that the controversial show constitutes “child pornography”.
According to a statement made yesterday by Anton Tsvetkov, a member of Russia’s Public Chamber and the leader of the NGO Officers of Russia, the organisers of the exhibition at Moscow’s Lumiere Brothers Centre for Photography agreed to close the show following protests. Earlier on Sunday activists from Officers of Russia had blocked the entrance to the building, claiming they would assess the content of the exhibition for “pedophilic” contents.
Titled The Absence of Shame, the exhibition opened on 8 September and features partially nude adolescents.
Jock Sturges is a contentious figure, best known for his images of nude adolescents and their families, with his studio raided by the FBI in 1990. The photographer claims that he has never experienced such issues when exhibiting abroad before now.
Source: Radio Liberty