XVALA Cancels Exhibition On Leaked Nude Photos At Cory Allen Contemporary Arts Exhibit; Artist Intends To Showcase His ‘Self-Owned’ Shots

A change of heart and an improvement. Bustle used to described these phrases of the artist James Hamilton aka XVALA's decision to cancel his 'No Delete' Exhibition supposed to be held at the Cory Allen Contemporary Arts (CACA) Exhibit scheduled on October 30 in Saint Petersburg, Florida. Instead, the artist announces that he will be including his "self-shot, life-size, nude images."

Primarily aimed to "start a conversation about privacy", 'No Delete' is seen as an artistic project making the life-sized, unaltered Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton's private photos just a part of the bigger issues on digital privacy.

"[They are] a representation of someone or something that has a different meaning for everyone. Transforming those images to canvas presents them in a different light. It makes them real." Cory Allen, owner of the gallery who agreed to host the exhibit said to E!

"It wasn't just about being 'hacked' images anymore, but now presented in the media as stolen property. People were identifying with Jennifer Lawrence's and Kate Upton's victimization, much more than I had anticipated, which is powerfully persuasive." XVALA asserted in an interview with The Wrap.

The publicity of the 'celebrity-compromised' photos has caused public outrage with at least 4,000 signatures from a Change.org petition who believes that the photos are not art but are outright evidences of women abuse and "a shocking display of rape culture promotion and misogynistic profiteering" and invasion of individual privacy.

"It's encouraging to see the outrage in people's responses to this project we are doing especially in an age when we give so much information. It's great to see people still care about privacy and will stand up for it." XVALA told Page Six earlier.

Hamilton's 'No Delete' is an offshoot of his ongoing "Fear Google" project that collects 'compromising' and unconventional celebrity shots. "Fear Google" has previously gained popularity as it includes the controversial shaved version of Britney Spears.

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