This morning, two pieces of news were screaming right in my face. It sounds like this to me:

“Paul Yore is charged for making art, while Miley Cyrus is teaching kids how to ride a ball naked on Youtube!”

Before today, Miley Cyrus was on my “do not talk about it” list. Now, I see a need to mention her for the sake of helping a fellow artist by putting his situation into perspective.

Who is Paul Yore?

Paul Yore (25) is a Melbourne based visual artist who is currently facing allegations of producing and possessing child pornography. The porn in question is his art.

Is it Art or Porn?

Paul’s work contains simple images illustrating a complicated message in gallery settings. Paul’s works are colourful, and although they can be alarming, the landscapes he has made out of pop culture and genitals is a direct reflection of our current social issues. His work is supposed to provoke us so we may think harder about our culture and what it’s doing to us.

Why is this work considered Porn, while videos such as Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball clip is accepted as “pop culture”?

So while Paul is having his works confiscated and being called a pornographer, Miley is over on Youtube crying over her ex boyfriend, making out with a hammer, straddling a wrecking ball naked and rolling around provocatively. Why is Paul’s work “child porn” while this 5Mill plus viewed video and Cyrus’ equally provoking twerking performance is considered as a perfectly acceptable contribution to pop culture?

These kinds of messages can be perceived as completely fine by an innocent soul who doesn’t quite understand the meaning behind the iconography and subtext. Much like kids playing “poor pussy” game in 1956.

This has got to stop.





