Gay South African artist found guilty of exhibitionism for tying rooster to his penis in Paris
A South African artist has been found guilty by a Paris court of sexual exhibitionism for a performance during which he tied a rooster to his penis.
Steven Cohen, a 51-year-old gay artist was found guilty by the court, but no penalty was imposed as no complaint was filed against him and no sexual acts took place.
The prosecutors in the case had asked for a €1000 (£825) fine.
The artist was arrested in September for performing in a square near the Eiffel Tower, in which he wore platform shoes, a feathered headdress.
He danced for around ten minutes with the cockerel attached to his genitals before being arrested.
Cohen argued that the performance was not intended as a sexual act, and that not even a group of nuns who walked past had complained to police.
“What I did was art [that] had nothing to do with sexuality,” he said.
The Stevenson’s gallery website describes Cohen as: “A performance artist who stages interventions in the public realm and in gallery/theatre spaces. His work invariably draws attention to that which is marginalised in society, starting with his own identity as a gay, Jewish, white South African man.”
