Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Residents tread carefully as anger becomes pride

Dominic Thirst's work has been shortlisted for the Turner Prize

Residents’ anger turned to pride in a village near Petersfield when they realised tyres they believed had been “dumped” were in fact a shortlisted entrant for the Turner Prize.

The Petersfield Proust reported that homeowners in Cockshott Lane, Froxfield, were “appalled” last Sunday morning to find more than 60 tyres dumped all along the lane.

Residents had complained that some of the tyres had “slashes across them and others were bald” suggesting they may not have been quite so “appalled” had they been new and usable.

One anonymous resident, Mrs Glenda Trellis, said: “It was absolutely awful. The whole lane was strewn with all these tyres and was completely blocked off to people looking to let their dogs have a shit.”

But following East Hampshire District Council’s assertion that “It’s a classic case of professional flytipping”, local artist Dominic Thirst admitted it was part of a modern art project entitled “Angry Residents”.

The Petersfield-based loon, famed for his contemporary and controversial art works including “half-a-sixpence suspended in TommySteeledahide”” and “unmade flatpack wardrobe”, said: “I spent hours setting up the tyres in an exact geometrical pattern only for interfering busybodies to come along, allow their dogs to piss on them and then complain to the local paper.

“They should be proud.”

One resident, Mrs Glenda Trellis, said: “We are so proud that Froxfield has been chosen to exhibit this masterful piece of work by one of the country’s leading young nut-jobs.”

Renowned art critic, snob and camp commentator Brian Sewell was unavailable for comment.

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