Sarah Lucas at The Whitechapel Gallery

The second port of call today was to see another exhibition that would never be allowed to be seen in present day Australia: the Sarah Lucas retrospective at Whitechapel Gallery. This was a very strong show. Several big rooms full of her very tough work, most of which deals with her perceptions of the male view of female sexuality. It is bleak and macabre and sometimes very funny stuff. Nice to see all the iconic pieces in the flesh and in one place: there's the kebab table; the razor blade boots; the mechanical wanking arm; the enormous 'Sod You Gits' newspaper collage etc. Upstairs, there were some immense erect penises moulded in concrete and attached to actual crushed, compacted cars in a terrific statement on the car-as-phallus syndrome that many men exhibit. And there was a wonderful, gigantic, photo/wallpaper piece which featured huge photographs of penises cut out and superimposed on what looked like a background of Heinz vegetable salad. The result was both hilarious and grotesque.

In Australia the 'moral' guardians would have the show shut down immediately, and yet, in London this afternoon the show was packed with all kinds of visitor: artists, students, grannies and grandpas, people off the street, tourists, kids. All of them interested in looking at the work of a major artist who is making an important, serious statement about the culture in which she finds herself living.

As I left the gallery, I mentioned to one of the staff that this work would not be allowed in Australia today in the current climate of moral hysteria. She thought I was joking, and when it became clear that I wasn't, she stood open-mouthed in disbelief.

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