GATESHEAD, England - Authorities seized a photo belonging to singer Elton John from an exhibition at the Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art on the grounds that the picture may breach child pornography laws.
Entitled “Klara and Edda Belly-Dancing,” the depiction of two
nude girls by world-renowned photographer Nan Goldin is one of 149 works on loan to the gallery exhibition from John's private collection.
"We attended the Baltic last Thursday at the invitation of management who were seeking advice about an item from an exhibition prior to it going on public display," said a Northumbria police spokesman.
Following the seizure of the photo, John came forward as the owner and defended the work in a statement on his website.
"The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world," the musician wrote. "[It] has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware."
The collection carried content warnings alerting visitors to the graphic nature of the exhibits.
A police investigation is currently underway. A police spokesperson told reporters that, “Who owns [the picture] or owned it is also part of the investigation.”
