Man charged over art attack

The artists were holding a talk during the alleged attack

A man has been charged with throwing paint over artwork by Turner Prize nominees Jake and Dinos Chapman.

Aaron Alexanda Barschak, 36, appeared at Oxford Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to face a count of criminal damage, Thames Valley Police said.

Mr Barschak, of Hamilton Road, Dulwich, south London, was bailed to reappear before Oxford magistrates on 17 June.

He was accused of throwing red paint over the Chapmans' work The Rape of Creativity, which is on show at the Modern Art Oxford museum, on Friday while the artists were hosting a talk.

The Rape of Creativity is a piece including bizarre alterations to sketches made by famous Spanish artist Goya.

A police spokesman said police had been called to the museum at around 1825 BST.

The paint is reported to have hit the wall of the museum and to have damaged some of the artwork.

The attack came the day after the artists were nominated for the £20,000 Turner Prize, which they are strongly expected to win.

The Chapmans are regarded as two of the most controversial artist in Britain today. Their work has included mutilated bodies in Great Deeds Against the Dead and Nazi soldiers molesting each other in the work Hell.

They were also in the 1997 Sensation exhibition, with dolls featuring penises instead of noses.