96 CENSURE : ADOLESCENCE ET NATURISME, INTIMITÉ vs VOYEURISME Jock Sturges, The Last Day of Summer, 1992 ; Radiant Identities, 1994 Jock Sturges, Seattle, 2002, in " Censored ", Exit, n°8, novembre, décembre 2002 – janvier 2003, p.66
ln 1990, after fifteen years of quiet and generally well-accepted work as an American photographie artist, l suddenly found myself the subject of an enorrnously evasive and brutal federal investigation. Alleging that my work might be child pornography, agents of the governrnent gave themselves license to interview everyone l had ever photographed as well as gallery owners, curators, collectors and friends and family. Having raided my apartment and confiscated virtually everything l owned, they proceeded to ransack my life as far back as 25 years in the past. Their "interviewing" of some of my younger models was particularly egregious. The image "Christina after the FB!..." depicts a counter culture child with whose family l had been working practically since this child's birth. Prior to being interrogated by the federal agents, Christina had never owned a bathing suit nor had she ever possessed the least modesty or sense of sharne. But the language and aggressive manners of the agents who spoke with her were so frightening and traurnatizing to her that when l saw her several weeks later l found a child so confused about her physical self that she was swimming wearing all her clothes. The governrnent eventually gave up and left me in peace – a hundred thousand dollars in legal expenses later. As weIl, they did such damage to my negative and print archive that much of my early work was essentially lost forever. Now l continue my work with a steady if cautious confidence. The events above changed my life and bruised aspects of my art that had previously been perhaps naively innocent. But none of my friends or subjects abandoned me – or even for an instant considered doing so. And l still photograph and know them all – as l hope l always will. They are the great wealth in my life.
Jock Sturges, Fanny, Montalivet, France, 1997