Bean bath promotes café grub

By Chirag Trivedi
BBC News Online, London

The artist spent 11 days rolling a nut to Downing Street

A man who recently pushed a monkey nut with his nose seven miles to Downing Street is to sit in a bath full of baked beans for 100 hours with two chips stuck up his nose.

Mark McGowan will also have sausages weighing 7 lb strapped to his head for the art stunt to support British cuisine and the traditional English café.

The performance artist has already made a name for himself by rolling on the pavement for more than four miles to encourage politeness towards office cleaners.

He also put a 27 lb turkey on his head and walked backwards for 11 miles to raise awareness of obesity.

The monkey nut protest, completed on 12 September, was an unusual attempt to have his student debts cleared.

Mr McGowan hopes to spend eight hours a day over two weeks in the beans to clock up the 100 hours.

I love chips, beans and sausages so much, I'm prepared to sit in it for two weeks Mark McGowan

It will take place in the window of a gallery so the public can watch him.

He said the idea came to him after a friend visiting from abroad complained about a pub's "everything with chips and beans" menu.

"He said it was rubbish and I found his comments hurtful," Mr McGowan said.

"Potatoes have got a lot of potassium, beans have lots of fibre and meat is full of protein.

"So it's against all that lasagne, sushi and guacamole rubbish.

"And we don't need to shut down our cafés and swap them for more Starbucks or coffee shops.

Obesity link dismissed

"I love chips, beans and sausages so much, I'm prepared to sit in it for two weeks - even though it will be very cold as it's in November and the gallery has no heating."

He added that food like this is often blamed for the rise in obesity, but eaten in moderation he says it can be a healthy meal.

"Obesity is about addictive personalities, it has nothing to do with British food," he said.

The installation, unsurprisingly called 'Sausage, Chips and Beans', will be at The House Gallery in Camberwell, south London, from 14 to 26 November.