It now appears that one of the most well known Austrian landmarks, in the name of art, is encouraging tourists to confront their sexual inhibitions by making them walk through a swingers club to reach one of Gustav Klimt’s masterpieces. The Secession, which is a world renowned venue of contemporary art in downtown Vienna, has temporarily incorporated this sex club, named Element6, into their landmark as part of a project by Swiss artist Christoph Buechel.

Of course, the swingers themselves are not there during the day. However, the mattresses, erotic pictures, whirlpool and bar are. A spokeswoman for The Secession said that Buechel hopes to spark yet another scandal like the one he caused when he released his Beethoven Frieze, which was released in 1902. It is now considered one of his key pieces. However, it was once thought of as obscene and pornographic because of the way women’s bodies where depicted in it.

Since the club is only open at night, long after the art hall is closed, daytime visitors aged 18 and older pass through its dimly lit room on their way to see the Klimt painting. The room where the famous art picture is located is locked at night for security reasons.

Buechel has declined to comment on his project, but the club, which is normally located in another part of town, said its participation aims to give as many people as possible the opportunity to overcome their inhibitions. The club went on to say that in the framework of this exhibition at The Secession, each individual can test for himself or herself whether this opens up new dimensions for his or her own sexuality.