‘I had to tidy it at all costs’ claims buyer
Mattress ‘should be turnered over weekly’
‘My Bed’, a stinking pit vacated by Tracey Emin, has been sold to someone who can finally give it a good home.
Harold resident Elsie Duggan remortgaged her and several of her friends’ houses to finance the deal. She told us that she ‘couldn’t wait to sort (the installation) out’, and that it would be ‘nice to have somewhere for (her son) to stay over.’
‘I may not know much about art, but I know what I like’, said Mrs Duggan. ‘And that’s hospital corners, an ironed divan sheet and the pillow case openings facing away from the door.’
Mrs Duggan first saw Emin’s work in 1999, and has had a strong urge to tackle it with a bottle of Fabreze and a bin bag ever since.
‘I wouldn’t normally buy a second-hand mattress, it can be a false economy’, she admitted. ‘But this one has only really been moped about in for a week and there wasn’t as much staining as you might think. A sprinkling of bicarbonate of soda should soon see it right.’
The changes made to the artwork have affected the value somewhat: it was estimated to now be worth ‘around £25’ by an expert at the Macmillan charity shop.
Mrs Duggan is considering tackling other pieces by ‘young’ British artists, and is currently in negotiations with Damien Hirst.
‘He’s really challenging, some of his output is too much for even a Bosch Maxx washing machine’, revealed the collector. ‘Especially his latest work, ‘a sleeping bag in which I seem to have shat myself’.’
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