An exhibition the public will never see...

It says something about a society when you can't find a willing exhibitor...

The controversial Mohammed-exhibition of work by Iranian artist Sooreh Hera remains hidden from the public. For the third time in succession, an exhibitor willing to show her work has reversed this decision.

Hera took photos of homosexuals wearing masks of the prophet Mohammed and his son-in-law Ali. The work was first going to be exhibited by the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, but the museum changed its mind because it "did not wish to become part of a political debate," as Director Wim van Krimpen put it.

MuseumgoudA then took on the role of advocate of artistic freedom. In December 2007, museum director Ranti Tjan offered to exhibit the work of Hera, who by then had begun to receive serious threats. But Tjan then needed protection himself and called the whole thing off.

Nor will the photos be shown at Art Amsterdam, an exhibition in the RAI at the beginning of May. Galerie A in Amsterdam offered two weeks ago to show the photos at Art Amsterdam, but now suddenly claims there is "not enough space". Only Hera's "less controversial" photos will therefore be on display in the RAI.