17/12/2001

Martin Creed’s $ 28,900 (€ 32,200) winning piece The Lights Going On And Off has brought the Turner Prize its usual dose of controversy. Mrs Jacqueline Crofton, a 52-year-old grandmother, herself a successful artist, was immediately escorted from the Tate gallery after she began throwing eggs at Martin Creed’s Turner prize winning piece according to the BBC on Wednesday. Mrs Crofton, of Hampstead Heath, north west London, said: “I have nothing against Creed, although I do not think his work can be considered as art. At worst, The Lights Going On And Off is an electrical work. At best, it is philosophy,” she told London's Evening Standard. “What I object to fiercely is that we've got this cartel who control the top echelons of the art world in this country and leave no access for painters and sculptors with real creative talent. All they are interested in is manufacturers of gimmicks like Creed, who made his name with a ball of Blu-Tac and a sheet of A4 paper crumpled into a ball.” Mrs Crofton, whose recent art topics have included the devastated World Trade Center and homeless people in London, counts actor Sir Michael Caine among her buyers. She told the Evening Standard that she had dreamed up the attack, “I had this dream on Monday that I was in Creed's room throwing eggs. I woke up and decided to turn it into a reality.” (James Goulder)