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Creator of red-light art show blasts the law on prostitution
Louise Jury, Chief Arts Correspondent12 Nov 2009
The artist behind a re-creation of Amsterdam's red-light district in the National Gallery has condemned the criminalisation of prostitutes.
American Nancy Reddin Kienholz, 66, who created the installation with her late husband Ed Kienholz, said their experience of talking to prostitutes to make The Hoerengracht (Whore's Canal) convinced her that banning the oldest trade was ridiculous.
"When you make it illegal then you have the pimps and they [the prostitutes] have to hide and they get arrested and sometimes abused by the police," she said.
Curator Colin Wiggins compares the work with Old Masters in the National Gallery's collection.
The Hoerengracht opens to the public on Wednesday.
