George Barns (56), life-long Burnley resident, and winner of the coveted Piss Artist of The Year Trophy, has been awarded a lucrative Arts Council grant.
In making the award, Giles Miles of the Arts Council said, “In his long, and illustrious career, Barnsey has shown outstanding commitment, dedication and fortitude in the field of piss artistry.
“His work has received extensive local media coverage and it’s time this was bought to the attention of a national audience. His work represents the pinnacle of UK piss artistry.”
Barnsey, like many Burnley residents, started out as a run of the mill Piss Head, and it was several years before he elevated this to what could properly be considered artistry. Whilst his, early, free form public peeing exhibitions never really took off, he did go on to achieve local recognition when he bought this medium into shop doorways and bus stops.
There followed a psychedelic phase, in which he experimented with vomit. His abstract imagery drew comparisons with the likes of Jackson Pollock and Picasso, although some critics felt he relied too heavily on the diced carrot motif.
Not content with visual media, Barnsey has applied his extraordinary talents to the spoken word. He is often found in public spaces shouting at a range of imaginary people and objects. His piece on the ‘Attack of the Purple Guinea-Pigs’ was well received at the 2012 Burnley Fringe.
He later turned his attention to fashion and introduced a bespoke line of dishevelled clothing that was to rival the popular heroin chic trend of the mid-90’s. His work was distinctively visual, using a wide variety of liquids and bodily fluids to randomly stain and colour charity shop clothing. It was very popular with students.
It wasn’t until Wetherspoon’s introduced CCTV that people began to see some of his interpretive figure work. His attempt to recreate Marilyn Monroe’s iconic air vent image by standing, bent over, in a puddle of his own steaming piss was seriously mis-understood by the management.
Having been sanctioned, sectioned, arrested, harassed and otherwise vilified by the local populace, following the award of this large sum of cash, the Arts Council are keen to see what this outstanding Piss Artist has in store.
Barnsey’s latest work is available for viewing at his local ‘Spoons, any day of the week. Entry fee is a pint of Carling. This show is not suitable for minors.
