LONDON (Reuters) - A British television station defended a show in which a Chinese performance artist apparently eats a dead baby, calling it a "thought-provoking film about extreme art in China."
Channel 4, which upset viewers with a dissection of a human corpse last month, plans to air the documentary in which artist Zhu Yu shows off photographs of himself washing a dead stillborn baby in a sink and putting its dismembered parts in his mouth.
Politicians and media critics have condemned the plans but the Broadcasting Standards Commission said it could not address a program before it was shown.
In a preview provided to Reuters, Zhu is also shown having a piece of his own body grafted onto a pig. He describes his work as expressing his Christian faith, saying: "Jesus is always related to death, blood, wounds, etc."
The show's presenter, a Sunday Times newspaper art critic, calls the work "suffering for your art on a messianic scale."
He added: "I expected to be horrified by him, but I found him peaceful, monastic and even charming. When the cameras were switched off he admitted he'd vomited twice before going through his baby performance. But it was crucial to do it, so he forced himself."
The presenter, who interviews the artist in his apartment, calls him "China's most notorious contemporary cannibal," and says he actually ate the baby's flesh.
A spokesman for Channel 4 said the program, which airs on Thursday at 11 p.m., will carry warnings that viewers may be alarmed and noted the hour complies with rules banning material unsuitable for children before 9 p.m.
"The images appear in the context of an intelligent and thought-provoking film about extreme art in China," he said.
Channel 4, which upset viewers with a dissection of a human corpse last month, plans to air the documentary in which artist Zhu Yu shows off photographs of himself washing a dead stillborn baby in a sink and putting its dismembered parts in his mouth.
Politicians and media critics have condemned the plans but the Broadcasting Standards Commission said it could not address a program before it was shown.
In a preview provided to Reuters, Zhu is also shown having a piece of his own body grafted onto a pig. He describes his work as expressing his Christian faith, saying: "Jesus is always related to death, blood, wounds, etc."
The show's presenter, a Sunday Times newspaper art critic, calls the work "suffering for your art on a messianic scale."
He added: "I expected to be horrified by him, but I found him peaceful, monastic and even charming. When the cameras were switched off he admitted he'd vomited twice before going through his baby performance. But it was crucial to do it, so he forced himself."
The presenter, who interviews the artist in his apartment, calls him "China's most notorious contemporary cannibal," and says he actually ate the baby's flesh.
A spokesman for Channel 4 said the program, which airs on Thursday at 11 p.m., will carry warnings that viewers may be alarmed and noted the hour complies with rules banning material unsuitable for children before 9 p.m.
"The images appear in the context of an intelligent and thought-provoking film about extreme art in China," he said.
