The Kentucky State Fair has disqualified a miniature artist from a competition after it was found that his entry was based on a popular porn set.
Preston Poling, known online as The Bearded Miniaturist, won third prize for his entry to the miniatures exhibition, before it was removed after being deemed ‘inappropriate’.
His entry, titled ‘The Casting Couch’, looks innocent enough as it shows a typical office environment with a couch, desk, computer and camera.
When users share his work on social media, they realize that he actually depicted the set of a popular porn site.
State exhibition staff subsequently had the piece removed due to the nature of the work.
Preston Poling, known online as The Bearded Miniaturist, won third prize for his entry to the miniatures exhibition, before it was removed and deemed ‘inappropriate’
His entry, titled ‘The Casting Couch’, shows what appears to be a typical office setup with a couch, desk, computer and a camera
Speaking with WDRBPoling said, “I made it piece by piece so that it would be an exact copy of the one we all know, or don’t want to admit we know.”
“I called the state police to the fair Wednesday morning. That’s when I found out that the fair board was considering revoking all of my awards for this year and disqualifying them entirely as artists.”
Lexie Ratterman of Kentucky Venues said in a statement that Poling’s piece had been removed by authorities.
He said, ‘Submissions to the fair are routinely reviewed during the event and the entry in question has been removed from the exhibition at this time.
According to Poling, the work was not intended to offend people, but rather as a “joke.”
He said, ‘The joke is not for the judges. The joke is not for the people who are offended by this. The joke is to submit something that you either get or you don’t.’
Sharing his work on social media, users realize he actually depicted the set of a popular porn site, seen here
Poling won awards for two of the three pieces submitted, including one for ‘Best in Show’ for a piece in the TV show ‘The Walking Dead’.
He also received an award for his craftsmanship for his entry based on the popular children’s book ‘Goodnight Moon’.
Poling was allowed to keep the ribbons and his art can still be seen in the exhibition hall.
He added: ‘The director of the fair board has asked me to be more careful in the future, because some things could be controversial.’