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XVALA, an artist who planned to feature stolen naked photos of celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton in an exhibition, has decided not to do it following heavy criticism. The Cory Allen Contemporary Art Showroom, located in in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the artist announced the decision in a statement released on Monday, September 8.

"Public outrage over the announcement to exhibit the hacked nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton ... has altered the artist's and gallery's plans, via a series of persuasive online petition[s]," read the statement posted on its site.

"It wasn't just about being 'hacked' images anymore, but now presented in the media as stolen property. People were identifying with Jennifer Lawrence's and Kate Upton's victimization, much more than I had anticipated, which is powerfully persuasive," XVALA said of the cancellation. Cory Allen added, "It was inspiring to see people take action through a petition, signing their name and not just commenting on a thread."

Previously, the gallery announced that they would display life-size, unaltered images of the celebrities who fell victim to massive hacking on August 31 as a part of "No Delete" exhibit. In exchange for the celebrities' nude photos, the show which is scheduled to take place on October 30 will feature the artist's "self-shot, life-size" naked photos.

"This concept was always about self-examination in our current culture. Why we feel the need to know and cross the lines of other individual's privacy," XVALA said.