3/4/07

Contaminated Waste Transferred

The assumption by building workers that Anish Kapoor’s 1984 work, “Hole and Vessel II” was rubbish fit only for the skip sent tremors through the London art world and argument among the workers themselves is even more confused now. What recycling code would it fit? And has it really been destroyed, or has it been spirited out of the waste transfer station to which it was consigned? As the judge in the case said, “One expert described it as sensuous and sexy; the other as clumsy and somewhat absurd”. Perhaps it was the clumsiness of the work that prevailed. At least, apparently it was not labelled ‘contaminated’, as is often the case with smaller refuse consignments that cannot be recycled. Swiss art collector Ofir Scheps made a successful suit for damages, gaining £350,000 for the object made of polystyrene, cement, earth and pigment.