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Bill Henson used his first public speech since the furore over his photographs of naked children to explore the contradictory nature of the medium and people's reactions to it.

Speaking to a large and supportive crowd at the opening of a photographic exhibition chronicling the Asia-Pacific from the 1840s to the 1940s at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra last night, the controversial artist said art had the power to challenge prejudices.

The artist ignored questions about the recent controversy over his art as he walked last night through the exhibition of more than 400 photographs.

In May the Prime Minister called Henson's depictions of naked children "absolutely revolting" and a series of police raids on art galleries hanging his work began to determine whether they were pornography. Police decided not to charge him, and the Classification Board described the pictures in question as "mild".

Most recently the Classification Board asked the art magazine Art Monthly Australia to submit its June edition for review. The magazine published a photograph of a naked girl, Olympia Nelson, on its cover.

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