{"id":204653,"date":"2025-10-16T17:24:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204653\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T17:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:24:08","slug":"art-exhibition-with-millions-of-pounds-worth-of-paintings-interrupted-by-fart-noises-news-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204653\/","title":{"rendered":"Art exhibition with millions of pounds worth of paintings interrupted by fart noises | News UK"},"content":{"rendered":"

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At the world-renowned Frieze\u00a0London art fair, bidders hoping to buy a painting worth millions of pounds were rudely interrupted by flatulence. <\/p>\n

The fart noises were part of a counter-performance outside of the auction house at Freize, with organiser KONN ARTISS also installing five massive blocks of ice.<\/p>\n

In front of the fair\u2019s main entrance, visitors were greeted by the 40-stone ice blocks with miniature effigies of Hirst, Warhol, Emin, Koons, and KAWS.<\/p>\n

The display was fittingly called \u2018ANTI-FRIEZE\u2019, and aimed to capture the \u2018tension between value, hype, and decay.\u2019<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said: \u2018When the market freezes, art melts. It\u2019s not a protest. It\u2019s a reflection. We\u2019re all stuck in the same ice.\u2019<\/p>\n

But the part of the performance which turned the most heads was the one ice block containing sculpted excrement, with sounds of fart noises emitting from hidden speakers. <\/p>\n

\t\t\"This
\n\t\tOne block of ice had frozen excrement inside of it (Picture: Konn Artis)<\/p>\n

Inside the auction tent, heads turned as sounds of flatulence echoed around.<\/p>\n

Some attendees giggled, but the auctioneer kept a serious face as he read out the price: \u2018\u00a3100,000.\u2019<\/p>\n

The spectacle aimed to explore the artist\u2019s exploration of value, vanity and spectacle.<\/p>\n

Metro has contacted Frieze for further information on the spectacle. <\/p>\n

As in Venice and Washington before, KONN once again used public space and humour to question what, exactly, is being bought and sold when art meets money.<\/p>\n

Art auctions have been the focus of other stunts as well \u2013 Banksy<\/a> famously shredded one of his paintings after it was sold for \u00a31,000,000.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tLatest London news\t\t\t<\/p>\n

To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro’s London news hub<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\t\t\"This
\n\t\tThe stunt certainly turned heads at one of the most famous art fairs in the world (Picture: Konn Artis)<\/p>\n

The anonymous street artist stunned bidders in 2018 when his famous Girl With Balloon painting sold for \u00a31.1 million at Sotheby\u2019s in\u00a0London<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But instead of following standard procedure,\u00a0the artwork immediately attempted to self-destruct<\/a>, with the canvas passing through a secret shredder hidden in its frame.<\/p>\n

The bottom half of the painting was left in tatters, with only a single red balloon left on the remaining background.<\/p>\n

Posting a picture of the moment on Instagram<\/a>, Banksy wrote: \u2018Going, going, gone\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

The sale however did go ahead, and the radically altered painting was\u00a0put on display<\/a>\u00a0at Sotheby\u2019s New Bond Street gallery shortly after the shocking event.<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more stories like this, check our news page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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