Art gets black cover to ward off culture vultures Artists cover works to protest against moral policing BY DNA Correspondent After a woman objected to the exhibition, 'Tits, Clits and Elephant Dicks', the two artists Sanjeev Khandekar and Vaishali Narkar, covered their works with black cloth as a form of protest against the moral policing. In this they were supported by about 25 friends, including some artists. After PushpVijula's complaint, the Colaba police have registered a case of ob­scenity against the two artists under sec­tion 292 (2) (a) of the Indian Penal Code. Vijula, a Tardeo resident, also visited the gallery again and reiterated her point that the exhibition was obscene. "It is hell," she said. She described herself as a yoga teacher and psychologist. Officers from the Colaba police station visited the art gallery, videographed the exhibits but did not seize any of them. They also recorded state­ments from the artists but did not arrest them. The artists told the police that they could remove the exhibits if they gave a signed statement saying they accepted re­sponsibility if any damage was done. "If you place the nude sculpture on the foot­path it is going to look obscene," Khan­dekar told the police. "If you want to take something, take the whole exhibition." After this conversation with the police, Khandekar and Narkar covered the ex­hibits with black cloth. Sculptor Arzan Khambatta, who visited Jehangir with his wife, praised the boldness and said it was necessary to broach the subject. Through the exhibition, the artists said the increas­ingly realistic internet experience allows or incites people to fulfil urges online thai they would not be able to in the real world, but they run the risk of confusing reality and sharpening their hypersexed, voyeuristic and commercialised view of the world. Artists Vaishali Narkar (from left), Sanjeev Khandekar and Bose Krishnamachari cover a mannequin with black cloth to protest against charges of immorality. (Right) Pushp Vijula, who lodged a complaint with the Colaba police against the exhibition - 'Tits, Clits and Elephant Dicks' - at the Jehangir Art Gallery - Anshuman Poyrekar. "This is not acceptable. Artists take risk of exploring and presenting unspoken issues in our society through their works. The people who are complaining are not experts, they should try and see how art is dealing with issues. What really amazes me is that jehangir. Art Gallery has seen many exhibitions featuring the female in the nude. These objects usually crop up when a male nude is displayed, which isn't right." - Chintan Upadhyay, Artist "If they want to remove these installations, they should also go after the sculptures in Khaguraho and ban the Kamasutra too." - Satish Maneshinde, Advocate "What gives the police the right to try and remove installations? When an artist puts up his work in an art gallery, it is his personal space, his personal expression that he is sharing with the world. As a viewer you have every right to express your opinion. But nobody has the right to shut down an exhibition based on their personal perception unless it is likely to cause disharmony or hurts religious sentiments." - Vikram Bawa, Photographer DNA, August 7th 2006