BONKERS! Brum art gallery puts on sex video by Turner Prize winner.

Byline: BY ANUJI VARMA

A PUBLICLY funded Midland art gallery is showing a video clip of a man and woman having sex as part of its latest exhibition.

Under-18s are banned from seeing Sex Film by former Turner Prize winner Martin Creed at the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham.

The item, which focuses on the man's penis and woman's backside, is featured on a giant screen in front of the door on the first floor of the exhibition.

Ikon Director Jonathan Watkins has described the artist's work as 'something very pure'.

But it is feared not all visitors to the gallery will see the film in the same way and some may view it as porn.

The Ikon receives cash annually from The Arts Council West Midlands and Birmingham City Council.

The Martin Creed exhibition has been funded by The Henry Moore Foundation, a charity which supports the fine arts.

It also features video clips of people making themselves sick in a studio with white walls and floor.

The artist's best-knownpiece is the work he exhibited for the 2001 Turner Prize show at the Tate Gallery.

It was a room where the lights were periodically switched on and off.

A variation on this piece is also on show at the Ikon.

Many in the art world believe Creed's work reflects his sense of humour.

Other pieces on display by him at the Ikon include a stack of plywood, empty boxes arranged into a pile, and a piece entitled A Sheet of Paper Crumpled Up and Flattened Out.

He once said in an interview: "I do it because I want to make something. I think that's a desire, you know, or a need.

"I think I recognise that I want to make something, and so I try to make something.

"But then you get to thinking about it and that's where the problems start because you can't help thinking about it, wondering whether it's good or bad. But to me it's emotional more than anything else."

Ikon's Director Jonathan Watkins said: "Martin Creed is one of the best artists in the world. His work encourages us to consider all aspects of human experience, in ways at once touching and provocative.

"There is something very pure about Creed's treatment of subject matter that might be considered, conventionally, inappropriate as fine art. He makes us think again about art and life, which is no bad thing."

A spokesman added: "The Martin Creed exhibition at Ikon includes works which represent an interesting development in this internationally acclaimed artist's practice.

"Arts Council England is happy to support Ikon in delivering thought-provoking, challenging and innovative work."

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OTHER CONTROVERSIAL IKON SHOWS

April 2007: Italian showman staged a bizarre show where he ate money from audience members - and returned it once nature had taken its course.

May 2006: A controversial exhibit by Spanish conceptual artist Ignasi Aball invited art buffs to watch paint dry.

November 2005: Artist Andrew Savage was given pounds 25,000 of lottery money - to go shoplifting.

July 2003: Artist Patrick Killoran scattered 500 identical wallets around Birmingham to see if any were handed in.

June 2002: Art student David Brink-worth swept, mopped and dusted the gallery in the name of art.

February 2002: A film featuring 10 Cuban men engaged in a sex act was screened at a free exhibition.

January 2002: Asylum seekers in the Midlands were offered cash to say they did not speak English.

CAPTION(S):

What do you think? Is Martin Creed's work art, porn or waste of space? Send your replies to Art Attack, Sunday Mercury, PO Box 78, Weaman Street, Birmingham, B4 6AY.