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Don't debase world's great art works

The exhibition in Dubai is puzzling is puzzling as it is a Muslim country and public nudity is forbidden, says the writer.
The exhibition in Dubai is puzzling is puzzling as it is a Muslim country and public nudity is forbidden, says the writer.
Image: GETTY IMAGES

There is a saying that “art is in the eye of the beholder", but not in Dubai, it appears. An exhibition will display a 17ft high 3D copy of Michelangelo's David, or at least most of it. It is puzzling as to how this could be suggested as Dubai is a Muslim country and public nudity is forbidden, a fact that everyone would know even if they do not agree.

The suggestions of fig leaves or pants being added to the statue are silly and offensive to those who appreciate the statue's beauty. Having private parts hidden from view will simply diminish the appreciation of one of the world's greatest art works.

Maybe Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi would have been a much better centrepiece and it is already in the UAE waiting for a public unveiling.

Like many, I have seen the original in Florence, Italy, and appreciated the artist's work and maybe people can make a choice to travel, eventually, and see the original pieces rather than a computer "print out" copy of it.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne,  Australia

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