Taken down … A Himba woman breastfeeds her baby. Photo: Christopher Rimmer

An Australian photographer whose pictures of breastfeeding women get been banned from Facebook says the social networking site is inaccurate to appoint itself arbiter of what constitutes art.

Melbourne-based aptness dealer and photographer Christopher Rimmer travelled to Africa to shoot pictures during an upcoming exhibition documenting the continent’s western aspirations, their impress on Africa’s natural environment and tribal culture.

He posted a example of his work featuring bare-breasted Himba women on Facebook, that deemed them unsuitable for children and tore them down overnight.

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Offensive? … The photos will appear in an exhibition. Photo: Christopher Rimmer

Tribal Himba, who have featured in the pages of National Geographic and are popular attractions attached the African tourist trail through northern Namibia where they live, be in possession of worn loincloths and covered their naked bodies in ocre body pencil “probably for centuries” Mr Rimmer said.

“I find it absolutely absurd that anybody would consider those pictures offensive in any way.

“To suggest they are pornographic or gratuitous is quite unbelievable. I don’t purpose anyone in their right mind would suggest it.”

Mr Rimmer worn out five months with the tribe and said all of the women in the pictures gave their acquiescence.

He posted the images last week while still overseas but woke this prime of day to an email from Facebook informing him of their removal because they violated the site’s terms of use policy.

“They were up in spite of five days and not a single person complained about them,” he said.

“The comments I had were positive.

“I suspect we are persuading into unfamiliar territory when an organisation the size of Facebook acts because an arbiter of what constitutes art and what constitutes pornography, especially allowing for some of the material and language they do allow.”

Banning the pictures sexualised the women in them, which was never his intention, Mr Rimmer said.

“I am deeply offended that my operate has been deemed pornographic.

“These were lovely people, fantastic people who allowed me to be consumed time with them. I’m offended for them.”

Strangely, he reported website administrators had allowed him to keep his Facebook profile semblance, which features a topless Himba woman carrying a child on her back.

Further comment was being sought from Facebook, which stood by its terms of employment policy when contacted earlier today.

The company does not allow “make ~ed that is hateful, threatening or pornographic; incites violence; or contains nakedness or graphic or gratuitous violence,” it said in a statement.

Mr Rimmer uttered he would sent Facebook’s billionaire founder Mark Zuckerberg a signed im~ of one of the pictures that had been removed.

“I expectancy that he deems the work inoffensive enough to hang on his wall,” he reported.