Fotografiska, the Swedish-based photography museum, says that it has been forced to censor images on its Facebook pages to avoid them being deleted by the social-media giant.

The museum, which is devoted to contemporary photography, is showing 200 works by Robert Mapplethorpe (until 2 October). His oeuvre presents difficulties because of its focus on the nude; according to the museum’s spokesman, Facebook “dislikes nakedness whether it is in paintings or photography”.

Fotografiska shows works by many challenging contemporary artists. “We do not warn people about entering certain rooms, but they have titles such as ‘Nude’ and ‘Sex’. We even show erect penises, but from an artistic point of view,” he said.

To promote its Mapplethorpe show, the museum is showing works on the website depicting nudity, but with the offending areas of the body covered by blue rectangles and white lettering–an obvious reference to Facebook’s corporate colours and logo. The text reads “Facebook-friendly square”.