The Emperor's New Grocery Receipt
Good grief. I know many talented artists who actually produce decent work which deserves to be exhibited.
But instead, Monochrome Till Receipt (White), by Ceal Floyer, is one of the gallery's latest acquisitions going on display in a new exhibition.
Floyer describes the work as a modern still life where objects are imagined but not shown.
This is the first time the public has had the chance to see it- and conjure up its 40-odd items, all of which are white.
Visitors to the gallery can meditate on the beauty of boil-in-the-bag rice (£1.77), Sensodyne toothpaste (£2.40), and swing-bin liners (£1.69).
Under the terms laid down by Floyer, the work requires a new receipt - and therefore a shopping trip - each time it is shown.
Curator Andrew Wilson initially went to Sainsbury's - but screwed up the receipt when he realised it was an environmentally-friendly list printed on both sides of the paper, preventing spectators from seeing all the items.
Mr Wilson, who bought the groceries with his own cash and took them home, said: "It's like an imaginative leap of faith from the daily drudge of going to the supermarket to the idea of the domestic still-life painting, but also with the supposed purity of Modernist monochrome abstract painting."
Three years ago the work was given an estimated price of £30,000. Tate bought it this year for a sum it will reveal only in its next annual report.
Previous work by Floyer includes a black bin bag filled with air and beer mats propping up wobbly tables.
If you truly want to meditate on the beauty of grocery products, I recommend spending a recession-busting £10 (less than 1/1000th of the price!) on getting throughly stoned/baked before doing the weekly shop.
But instead, Monochrome Till Receipt (White), by Ceal Floyer, is one of the gallery's latest acquisitions going on display in a new exhibition.
Floyer describes the work as a modern still life where objects are imagined but not shown.
This is the first time the public has had the chance to see it- and conjure up its 40-odd items, all of which are white.
Visitors to the gallery can meditate on the beauty of boil-in-the-bag rice (£1.77), Sensodyne toothpaste (£2.40), and swing-bin liners (£1.69).
Under the terms laid down by Floyer, the work requires a new receipt - and therefore a shopping trip - each time it is shown.
Curator Andrew Wilson initially went to Sainsbury's - but screwed up the receipt when he realised it was an environmentally-friendly list printed on both sides of the paper, preventing spectators from seeing all the items.
Mr Wilson, who bought the groceries with his own cash and took them home, said: "It's like an imaginative leap of faith from the daily drudge of going to the supermarket to the idea of the domestic still-life painting, but also with the supposed purity of Modernist monochrome abstract painting."
Three years ago the work was given an estimated price of £30,000. Tate bought it this year for a sum it will reveal only in its next annual report.
Previous work by Floyer includes a black bin bag filled with air and beer mats propping up wobbly tables.
If you truly want to meditate on the beauty of grocery products, I recommend spending a recession-busting £10 (less than 1/1000th of the price!) on getting throughly stoned/baked before doing the weekly shop.