Top ten Mark McGowan moments
Updated on 30 May 2007
Eating a Corgi on radio is not the first outlandish act Mark McGowan has undertaken in the name of art.
From eating a fox to draw attention to the plight of crack addicts, to rolling a monkey nut across London with his nose to protest against student fees, Mark McGowan's methods of protest are as varied as his causes. Here are ten of his best.
1. Monkey nuts
To protest against student fees, Mark pushed a monkey nut along the road with his nose - for seven miles.
Starting out at Goldsmiths College, Mark ended up outside Number 10 Downing Street. On arrival he handed his well-travelled nut to the authorities.
2. Brighton rocks
He hasn't always succeeded in reaching his final destination, though. Mark attempted to cartwheel from Brighton to London but after four days on the move he collapsed and was taken into hospital.
3. Water works
Mark planned to turn on a cold water tap in the House Gallery in Camberwell and leave it running for one year.
The wastage - 15 million litres of water - drew objections from many quarters not least Thames Water, who made him turn the tap off.
Mark said the installation was something people could "enjoy aesthetically" as well as being a "comment on a social and environment issue."
4. Pegging it
In 2005 Mark embarked on an art installation where 17,200 multi-coloured clothes pegs would be attached onto an alcoholic called Barry. But somehow, in the end, it was Mark who 'got pegged'. On final count, a total of 4,500 pegs had been used.
5. Trolley voyage
At the end of 2003 Mark attempted to sail from London to Glasgow
in a shopping trolley.
His plan was to collect gifts from the English and hand them to the Scottish in "reconciliation for the William
Wallace thing".
But, a mere 65 miles into his ambitious 400 mile voyage, weather conditions overcame his vessel and he was forced to jump ship after just 17 days.
6. 100,000 kisses for Tony Blair
On election day in 2005 Mark kissed an A4 colour laminated photograph of Tony Blair on the lips 100,000 times outside 10 Downing Street.
7. Christmas is coming...
...and the Turkey - amongst others - is getting fat.
That was Mark's message when, in 2003, he donned a 27lb turkey atop his head and walked backwards for 11 miles.
On his travels he shouted at overweight passers by through a homemade loud hailer. He was campaigning about the obesity pandemic.
8. Full English
But he clearly doesn't regard diet as a major factor in the fight against obesity.
Also in 2003, Mark sat in a bath of beans with two chips stuck up his nose and 48 sausages strapped to his head for two weeks,
he was advocating the consumption of the much maligned
British breakfast.
9. Foxy supper
In 2004, Mark popped on his dinner jacket and dined on fox to highlight the plight of crackheads.
He asked a simple question: millions of people have marched for fox hunting and millions have marched against, but who is going to march for the crackheads?
Earlier this year he tucked into a swan, to protest against "the monarchy, the rich and the upper classes" and, of course, his latest meat-fest is Corgi.
10. Keep the car running
Not dissimilar to his running tap installation, Mark planned to keep an Audi 80 running everyday for a year in Peckham, London, to protest against the enormous amounts of unnecessary pollution by, er, producing enormous amounts of unnecessary pollution.
