Flakiest Royal
Elizabeth Griffiths, her Academy entry ‘Taxonomy Of The Cornflake’ and, right, her raw material A GLASS cabinet displaying 84 different cornflakes has been accepted as a work of art by the prestigious Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. It is among more than 1,300 artworks in an array of styles chosen by a panel led by the Turner Prize-winning eccentric Grayson Perry. The 2018 exhibition, with £50,000 in prizes to be won, includes work by famous artists including David Hockney, Anish Kapoor and Tracey Emin. So the less well known Anne Griffiths was delighted when her work, entitled “Taxonomy Of The Cornflake”, was selected. She used 11 brands including Kellogg’s, Nestle gluten free, Whole Earth Organic and Tesco Everyday Value to create her work which mimics a museum butterfly collection. Anne, 54, from Wantage, Oxfordshire, said the artwork explores her passion for taxonomy – the science of classification – and how the way an object is displayed can affect how it is perceived and valued. The piece, on display at the Academy in London’s Piccadilly until August 19, has already been sold for £900.
Anne, who prefers marmalade on toast for breakfast, said her close study of the detail of each type of cornflake means she can now spot the difference between Kellogg’s and a supermarket own brand.
She said: “If you look at them, they are amazing shapes. There are so many variations and every single one is unique.
Rummaging
“Once something is put in a display cabinet and pinned precisely with a number then people become interested.
“It engages the viewer and it absolutely changes people’s perceptions – how an object is displayed affects what we consider to be precious.”
Anne spent hours rummaging through the contents of each box.
The 84 exhibits were numerically coded according to size, colour, shape,