This image comes from the portfolio of *adixion at DeviantART

When does art depicting sex become pornography? Do the ancient Chinese wood block prints of gentle love-making in beautiful gardens count? What about a video of a woman’s face as she receives oral sex? Both of these are included in a new exhibition at London’s Barbican, called Seduced – Art and Sex from Antiquity to Now, which seeks to explore the changing attitudes to the depiction of sex and sexuality throughout the ages. One of the first things on show is the bronze fig leaf cast for Michaelangelo’s David to avoid offending Queen Victoria. How things have changed.

The Barbican’s Head of Art, Kate Bush, says ‘It’s not about porn. It’s a thoughtful exhibition, a celebration of what connects all human beings across time and cultures.’ This despite showing video installations of consensual sex between adults and banning under-18s. Ancient pottery from Greek and Roman times, through voluptuous Renaissance nudes to modern day photographs, the exhibition is a journey through art, portraying the fact that human desire will remain constant whilst the form of representation is ever-changing.

If you have anything to say, there is a lively debate to contribute to here.