Exhibition at Pune art gallery stopped over 'nudity' in photographs

A photographer has said an exhibition of his picture collection was stopped at an art gallery in Pune, with its management citing the 'nudity' element in the photographs.

Sunil Mate, the in-charge of the Balgandharv Rang Mandir, which houses the art gallery, said the photographer, Akshay Mali, should have told the management about the exhibition theme in advance.

"We do not allow any such exhibitions which can hurt someone's sentiments. Such nudity does not look appropriate (at the art gallery)," he said.

Mate said when they came to know about the photos and the display theme, the artist was told to remove the pictures.

The three-day exhibition of Mali's photographs started on Friday at the art gallery on J M Road here in Maharashtra, but it was stopped on Saturday.

"The theme of the exhibition was 'IT'S ME' in which the boundaries of art were broken. The exhibition contained nude photos of me and other models clicked in the nature," Mali said.

He said on Saturday, some people from the art gallery's management took objection to the photographs and asked him to remove them.

"When I booked the slot, I had not told the management about the nude theme. I had booked the slot by just mentioning that it would be a photography exhibition," said Mali, who claimed that some of his photographs featured on a platform through an online exhibition.

"This was the first time I was showcasing my photos at a gallery, but my art work face this kind of opposition. The art does not have any rules or boundaries, but there has been an attempt to confine it in a certain framework," he added.