Police in London broke into a local art gallery after spotting what they believed to be a dead woman through the window. On November 25, cops received a call to Laz Emporium, the gallery belonging to Banksy’s former agent, about someone allegedly in extreme peril, Artnet reports. When they arrived at the location, however, it appears the well-intentioned caller got it wrong.
The scene took place at Laz Emporium, the art gallery owned by Banksy's former agent, Steve Lazarides. https://t.co/G6XpZEGVuX
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- The “dead woman” was actually a sculpture called Kristina. She was made by an artist named Mark Jenkins. The sculpture depicted a woman in a chair with her head down on a desk and was commissioned by the Luz Emporium’s owner, Steve Lazarides.
- Police took the door off its hinges to gain entry. It wasn’t until they were inside the building that they realized no one was actually in danger and there was no medical emergency at all. It was just art, albeit a very convincing piece that fooled multiple passers-by.
- One of the gallery’s employees was still in the building. Hannah Blakemore was upstairs at the time of the incident and when she came down, she got the shock of her life seeing the police. Police told her that “somebody reported that the woman here has not been moving for the last two hours” and they wondered if the person had “a heart attack or she’s overdosed.”
- The police criticized the gallery for keeping the sculpture near the window. However, Blakemore thinks the whole incident speaks to how good the art is. “The work is to provoke, and it’s definitely achieving that,” she said. While Kristina isn’t for sale, she’s said to be worth more than $22,000.
If you’d like to go and see Kristina yourself, you can visit Laz Emporium at 25 Lexington Street in the Soho neighborhood of London. It’s unclear how long she’ll be on display, so be quick!
