Mat art

Ashington: An artist is being paid £1,600 to stand on a mat on a busy shopping street. For eight hours a day, for seven days, Ian Thorley stands as still as a statue in a double-breasted suit, holding a briefcase, all in the name of art.

For those who need a little explanation, Mr Thorley wears a security pass stating he is a Government doormat tester. His street performance in Ashington, Northumberland, has not delighted everyone in the town though.

One person called the police, while one outraged shop owner in Station Road, where Mr Thorley stands, made a display of his own with a sprout and a saucer and placed it next to the artist.

At the most, his art has prompted laughter from bemused shoppers and workers.

But no-one found it funny when they realised he was being paid to stand still and do nothing from 9am-5pm every day.

Mr Thorley has been performing his stationary project "Utilitarian Utopia" in the town since the weekend as part of a month-long visual arts event, Temporary Address, run by Wansbeck District and Blyth Valley councils.

Michael McElderry, 48, whose fruit shop looks out on to Mr Thorley's project, said: "It is a huge waste of public funds."

Mr McElderry placed a sprout on a saucer next to the mat on which Mr Thorley stands and said: "This piece of art is a symbolic expression of the sprouting of resistance to the totalitarian state which is now Wansbeck District Council."