The Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art will go to court in September to face charges of offending public decency, the Daily Mail reports. The gallery is being sued by Emily Mapfuwa, a citizen outraged by an artwork in the gallery's September 2007 – January 2008 Terence Koh exhibition, "Gone, Yet Still." The piece comprises dozens of plaster objects, including statues of such figures as Mickey Mouse, E.T., and Jesus, all shown with erections.

Despite signs at the center warning of the explicit nature of the exhibition, Mapfuwa and others have said they were offended by the artwork and argue that a far greater outcry would have resulted if the piece had depicted Mohammed. "I don't think this gallery would insult Muslims in this way, so why Christians?" said Mapfuwa.

The suit claims that the gallery breached Section 5 of the Public Order Act and offended public decency, the maximum penalty for which is six months in prison and a £5,000 ($9,700) fine. Legal experts have said that the hearing will be the first test of public decency legislation since the British government did away with the country's dated blasphemy laws in May, and according to the Daily Mail, could therefore lead to a landmark case.

This is not the first time the Canadian-Chinese artist or the Baltic center have faced controversy. In 2006, two of Koh's works — including one that showed the Virgin Mary with a penis at a urinal — were withdrawn from an exhibition at the Royal Academy. Last September, police visited the Baltic after receiving complaints about a photograph of two naked girls. The picture was taken down.