As if it wasn’t enough to publicly violate personal privacy by hacking, purchasing, publishing, and distributing nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities, a so-called art gallery in St. Petersburg, Florida, is going the extra mile to take things one step further.
According to an official press release from Cory Allen Contemporary Art (CACA), Jennifer Lawrence’s illegally obtained nude photos will be included in the upcoming show of artist XVALA called “No Delete,” which will feature the photos in an “unaltered” state.
The press release says the show includes a “7 year collection of images found on Google of celebrities in their most vulnerable and private moments, that were comprised by either hackers or the paparazzi.” The artist’s publicist claims that “XVALA appropriating celebrity compromised images and the overall ‘Fear Google’ campaign has helped strengthen the ongoing debate over privacy in the digital era.”
Last week, Lawrence was one star among many female celebrities who found themselves victims of a malicious hacking that resulted in the online publication of nude selfies that were privately stored on their phones. With Jennifer’s representatives planning legal action against the hacker , it seems safe to assume that XVALA and CACA should expect legal repercussions for their gallery as well.
XVALA’s “Fear Google” campaign also includes celebrity trash, which is something considered to be “information thrown away and becoming accessible to the public for anyone’s use.”
While some of the named victims in the nude photo leak have claimed them to be fake, Jennifer Lawrence’s representatives confirmed their validity when they released a statement saying the photos were a flagrant violation of Lawrence’s privacy. Having Jennifer’s photos enlarged and put on display in an art gallery will presumably be seen as taking that flagrant violation one step further.
According to XVALA, “In today’s culture, everybody wants to know everything about everybody. An individual’s privacy has become everyone else’s business.” More so, it seems, when it comes to celebrity women, who have in the last week found themselves showcased shamelessly across the internet for all to see.
Jennifer Lawrence is no stranger to being nude, having had to appear nude yet completely covered in blue makeup for this past summer’s X-Men: Days of Future Past in her role as Mystique. But what is work and what is personal is now blurred, with Lawrence’s private photos getting just as much attention as the blockbuster she starred in.
What do you think? Should the “artist” have the right to display Jennifer Lawrence’s nude photos in his gallery and thus reap the rewards of the attention or should the show be considered a crime and be shut down?