Magazine’s photo of naked girl, 6, sparks uproar

A PHOTOGRAPH of a naked 6-year-old girl on the cover of an Australian art magazine has sparked uproar.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called it disgusting, infuriating liberal art critics.

“I can’t stand this stuff,” said Rudd, a staunch Christian.

“We’re talking about the innocence of little children here. A little child cannot answer for themselves about whether they wish to be depicted in this way.”

Government officials said they would review the magazine’s funding.

Art Monthly Australia put the photograph on the cover to protest the censorship of a recent exhibition featuring similarly naked children.

Magazine editor, Maurice O’Riordan, said he hoped this month’s July edition would restore “dignity to the debate” about artistic depictions of children following the police confiscation in May of photographs of a young girl taken by artist Bill Henson in a Sydney gallery.

The magazine’s photo was taken in 2003 by Melbourne photographer Polixeni Papapetrou and depicted her own daughter, Olympia.

Olympia and her father, art critic Robert Nelson, defended the photo.

“I love the photo so much. I think that the picture my mum took of me had nothing to do with being abused, and I think nudity can be a part of art,” Olympia Nelson said.

Rudd last week said he would forge a national child protection system following shocking cases of child neglect and abuse.

Martyn Jolly, head of photography and media arts at the Australian National University, said: “We aren’t going to let politicians who are always wanting to jump on populous bandwagons dictate what we can and can’t show.”