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Turnip Prize: Spoof art award in 25th year open to entries

BBC Lie InstateBBC
Lie Instate's 2022 winner, Cue Jumper, was inspired by a row over claims Holly and Phil from This Morning jumped a queue

The spoof Turnip Prize award for purposefully low-effort and cheap art is open to entries for its 25th year.

The competition, held in Somerset, has entries from around the world but those that display "too much effort" are immediately disqualified.

Entries will be accepted from 1 to 21 November, and this year's winner will be announced on 6 December.

An exhibition of 16 former winners and notable entrants is also being held at the New Inn, Wedmore.

Trevor Prideaux A photo of a toy panda with the label MickTrevor Prideaux
Many entries have puns as titles: Panda Mick was the 2021 winner, spoofing on the recent pandemic

Competition organiser Trevor Prideaux told the BBC: "It never ceases to amaze me how many entries we get every year.

"I never expected the award to run on for this long, but people want a Turnip and they want that recognition!"

Trevor Prideaux A photo of a toy sheep lying on its side 'asleep'Trevor Prideaux
2014 winner Ewe Kip was a cleverly topical yet extremely low effort entrant
PA Media A photo of the bed on display at the Tate Modern.PA Media
Tracey Emin's work was a snapshot of her bed during a depressive state, covered in rubbish, alcohol and stains

The Turnip Prize started in 1999, when artist Tracey Emin's 'My Bed' was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize.

Emin's work sold to Charles Saatchi for £150,000 and was later auctioned at Christie's for over £2.5m.

The modern art piece proved controversial and Prideaux took inspiration from that to create his own spoof art award.

Lockdown by Herewe Goagain
Lockdown, a padlock on top of a pile of duck down feathers, won for Herewe Goagain in 2020 at the height of pandemic lockdowns
Trevor Prideaux A photo of a large chilli next to three smaller chillies on a paper plate.Trevor Prideaux
2010 winner Chilli n' Minors is one of Trevor Prideaux's favourite entries

Mr Prideaux said: "I think one of my favourite submissions that we've had was Chilli n' Minors, back in 2010.

"It kind of changed the game for people that were entering.

"People realised they needed to be more topical. We are looking forward to some more topical and interesting entries this year."

Chris P Bacon
Chris P Bacon won the award in 2017 for her Pulled Pork entry - she was only 12 when she scooped the top prize
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