Art: Obey Your Thirst

American conceptual artist, Wayne Hill, had his artwork stolen and drunk. His art – a clear plastic bottle filled with water and situated on a pedestal, was priced at $69,700 (£40,000). Shown at an arts festival in Devon, England, the work was apparently misidentified by some thirsty person as being… a clear plastic bottle filled with water situated on pedestal.

Mr. Hill’s artwork had the implausible title of Weapon of Mass Destruction, and he claims the clear plastic bottle was filled with melted ice from Antarctica. Hill alleges his artwork took a year to create, and that its function was to confront people with the supposedly quickly thinning Antarctic ice sheet.

“The concept is to take something as dangerous as that and to bring it immediately into somebody’s presence,” he said. According to Hill, his Object d’ Art was earning quite a reputation, and it was scheduled for other exhibitions later in the year, that is… until some parched character gulped it down. It’s a shame really, that people can’t tell the difference between an ordinary bottle of water and a bottle of water that’s been elevated to high-art.

That being the case, Hill might as well continue his sham by visiting a local convenience store to pick up another clear plastic water bottle. But he better hurry, the weather’s been rather warm, and the art may be out of stock.