Ban on banana-eating artwork draws ridicule in Poland

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A few hundred mostly young people jointly ate bananas outside Warsaw's top national gallery on Monday to protest what they called censorship, after authorities removed artwork there featuring the fruit, saying it was improper.

The protest was called by artists and opposition politicians as part of their action on Facebook and Twitter of posting photos of themselves eating bananas in order to ridicule the ban. The action grew into a show of apparent criticism of the government.

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Miziolek said in an interview with the Onet.pl portal last week that he was "opposed to showing works that could irritate sensitive young people" and suggested some visitors have complained. The work had been in the gallery for many years.

A separate 2005 video by another controversial female artist, Katarzyna Kozyra, showing a woman walking two men on all fours, dressed as dogs on a lead, was also removed.

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At the collective banana-eating protest Monday night, some people brought more than one banana, while others put banana skins on top of their heads. A few unarmed police officers were on the scene outside the museum, which is closed on Mondays.

"The #BananowyProtest (banana protest) is the straight road to obesity," Karczewski tweeted.

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