SYDNEY  -  Inside Tasmania’s famous Museum of Old and New Art lies a large, emerald-draped cube. The walls are thick silk cur­tains. Within them, a cascading chande­lier hangs over a phallus-shaped velvet couch and a chequered marble floor. Op­ulent gold accents everything - from the framed art on the walls to the furniture. Women are ushered in and offered cham­pagne by male butlers “who live to serve” them. But men are otherwise noticeably absent, turned away at the entrance. This “Ladies Lounge” takes the concept of an old Australian pub and turns it on its head. It was only in 1965 that wom­en won the right to drink in the nation’s bars. Previously, they were relegated to dingy side rooms, if admitted at all, and often charged exorbitant prices for their tipple. And so, the exhibit - which contains some of the museum’s most-acclaimed works, from Picasso to Sidney Nolan was designed as a piece of interac­tive art, intended to provide a safe place for women to enjoy each other’s com­pany, while also highlighting the exclu­sion they faced for decades. Artist Kirsha Kaechele calls it an “essential space for perspective and reset from this strange and disjointed world of male domina­tion”. And it’s one which could now be taken away by a man. New South Wales resident Jason Lau has complained that the museum, known as Mona, is engaging in illegal discrimination. This week, the accusation culminated in a high-stakes court hearing - rife with drama and the­atrics. Tuesday started with a large group of women dressed in navy power suits, clad in pearls and wearing red lipstick marching into the hearing to support Ms Kaechele. Mr Lau, by contrast, dialled in without a fuss via a video link. He had visited Mona - long known for its pro­vocative art - while on a trip to Tasmania in April last year, he said, and bought the $35 (£18; $23) ticket expecting access to the whole museum. “I was quite sur­prised when I was told that I would not be able to see one exhibition, the Ladies Lounge,” he said. Representing himself, Mr Lau argued it breaches the state’s An­ti-Discrimination Act. “Anyone who buys a ticket would expect a fair provision of goods and services in line with the law.” The museum agrees the exhibit does in­deed discriminate. But it argued that Mr Lau hasn’t missed out on anything - he experienced the artwork exactly as in­tended. “Part of the experience is being denied something that is desired,” said Mona’s counsel, Catherine Scott, accord­ing to local paper The Mercury.