A Melbourne art installation allegedly containing images of child pornography was a piece of significant artistic merit, according to an art expert.
Artist Paul Yore, 26, has pleaded not guilty to creating and possessing child exploitation material over a piece on display at the Linden Centre for Contemporary Art in St Kilda last year.
Titled "Everything is F***ed", the installation included a number of images of nude adult bodies with children's faces attached.
But Jason Smith, the director of the Heide Museum of Modern Art, said Yore's work was of outstanding merit.
"Difficult, confronting, challenging - that's what artists have always done and will continue to do," he told the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday.
In a statement to police, Mr Smith called the installation a "tour de force" that "deliberately played with and subverted styles".
In a promotional interview played to the court, Yore said it was a homage to avant-garde artist Mike Brown and was deliberately confrontational.
"I guess I want to talk about the phallic-centric nature of our world," he said in the interview.
Yore said parts of the installation were "teetering on the edge" and "borderline uncomfortable".
The installation included a number of brightly coloured tapestries and images of pop culture figures such as Justin Bieber.
Detective Senior Constable Sam Johnson said police had received a complaint about the installation in May 2013.
After getting a warrant, Det Sen Const Johnson and a colleague removed seven images from the installation with a Stanley knife.
Defence barrister Neil Clelland said the key issue in the case was whether the material was actually child pornography.
Mr Clelland said at the time the work was removed, it had already been submitted for classification, and was eventually deemed to be suitable for people over the age of 18.
The hearing, before Magistrate Amanda Chambers, continues on Tuesday.
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