AN artist has been banned from putting a fake gun vending machine outside London schools.
Ben Turnbull planned to install his “artwork” close to schools to see how pupils reacted to the bubblegum machine filled with replica Beretta handguns.
A secret camera inside the “bubblegun” would take pictures for use in an exhibition. The installation, which does not dispense the fake weapons, was due to be placed outside newsagents close to schools in Twickenham, Fulham and Putney.
But after being warned that he faced prosecution, Turnbull backed down. It is against the law to possess replica firearms in a public place without reason.
This morning Turnbull told Radio 4’s The Today Programme: “The police are going to convict me, probably put me away if I do it.” He described the police’s reaction as “a bit flaky”, saying: “I queued up in Camden and bought 25 [toy] Berettas.”
The artist said that the work, Kids Have Everything These Days, would still be exhibited.
He accused opponents of “strangling art in its infancy”. via (The London Paper)
