I'm loathe to jump to either side of the fence, without knowing a little more about what I'm being asked to have an opinion on (and yes, I've read several of the articles Google has thrown up now).

The key issue for me on these works is, were the children sexualised? I don't mean, could the images be viewed in a sexual light - that's a purely subjective thing, and some people are going to se sex in every image that involves nudity. Was the intent of the artist in creating these portraits to create a sexually-charged image? If so, then the government and police are right in stopping this exhibition and investigating Henson. If not, then this IS censorship, plain and simple.

An artist cannot be held responsible for the way in which those who view his work react, because the potential audience is so vast, you can expect almost every possible reaction to be found amongst them. If a small group of people react in a way which is not acceptable, should the work which inspired that reaction be closed down? Because if so, then art should not exist - there is certain to be someone in the world who, viewing it, will have an adverse reaction. As a case in point (a ludicrous one, but that's why I'm using it), a child once committed suicide because he wanted to be reincarnated as Simba, from the Lion King. Should Disney be held responsible for this act? Should all copies of the Lion King (and its sequels) be pulled from the shelves, since it is possible that viewing it may cause suicidal urges amongst its target audience? Or should we accept that this was clearly not the intent of disney when making this film, and that what happened, rather than being an indicator of the piece of 'art', is an indicator of greater troubles within that individual's life, which the film has little or no bearing on?

Please note, though, that this is not a defence of Henson's work, since I do not know what the images under investigation actually showed. The press seem remearkably shy in coming down on either side of the fence on this one (which is VERY unusual for myself, as a Brit used to his native tabloid culture), so until there is a definite answer of whether or not these photos were created with a sexual intent, I cannot and will not offer an opinion on this case.

JonTheCelt