A clampdown on the freedom of artistic expression

Birmingham New StreetYes – I’m afraid all my paranoid fears are coming true. I was filling in time whilst changing trains at Birmingham New Street station by taking some photos of peoplle moving around the station, when I was ‘picked up’ by two undercover police officers interested in what on earth I was doing documenting a potential terrorist target like Birmingham New Street station. They took down my credentials and had a look at some of the photos. I didn’t even have time to edit the images and apply all the necessary filtering and cropping to make them look good – so slightly embarrassing on that score. I was a bit upset that they didn’t find my photos suitably controversial to censor them. Thast would have made me a more robust and convincing artist, but at least it means I’ve formally struggled to defend my art in the eyes of the law. Sort of.