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The £30,000 crucifixion of Andrew and Fergie
By Tom Teodorczuk, Evening Standard 17.10.06
Hanging offence: Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson depicted by Grayson Perry for their 1986 wedding
Transvestite potter Grayson Perry
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A picture depicting Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson nailed to crosses goes under the hammer at Christie's today.
Transvestite potter Grayson Perry made the piece before he became famous by winning the Turner Prize in 2003.
The picture, entitled Essex 2086 - a reference to where it was made - consists of 30 ceramic tiles and is expected to make up to £30,000 for the seller, a private collector.
Measuring three feet by four feet, it was made a month after Prince Andrew and Fergie's wedding in July 1986 and labels the bride a "whore" and the groom a "dream pimp".
For good measure, the flamboyant artist includes himself in the picture, which was exhibited in 1990 at the London gallery of art dealer James Birch.
Essex-born Perry, 46, told the Evening Standard he has since softened his attitude to the pair, who divorced 10 years after their spectacular wedding at Westminster Abbey.
He said: "It was over 20 years ago - God knows what was going through my mind. I was a different person then and so were Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. We all were.
"I quite like the fact they get on so well now since they divorced.
"They've had their ups and downs but their arrangement is a good example of pragmatism. Even the royal family has addressed realism."
He added: "Although I don't remember what was going through my mind when I made the picture, I recall going to Westminster Abbey to be at the wedding. I dressed up as a housewife and stood in the crowd.
"It's an unusual artwork for me, the only thing I've ever made using normalsized tiles. Good luck to whoever buys it."
Perry insists he does not support getting rid of the monarchy. "I like the fact we have a dry, useless ritual," he said. "The crunch time will be when the succession happens."
Christie's Post-War & Contemporary Art Sale also features works by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Peter Doig and a host of modern Chinese artists.
It will be the final auction in Christie's series of five modern art sales, timed to coincide with the Frieze Art Fair. Sunday's two sales alone raised £19.2 million, the highest for any October contemporary art sales in London.
www.christies.com
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