TATE THAT! Wealthy neighbours sue art gallery for turning their luxury flats into ‘goldfish bowls’
THEY paid millions of pounds for luxury apartments on London’s trendy South Bank, only to find thousands of strangers peering through their windows.
But now wealthy residents are suing the Tate Modern art gallery over a new viewing platform that has been described as ‘a voyeur’s dream’.
Complaining that Tate visitors are using binoculars and cameras with zoom lenses to snoop on them and take intrusive photos, the residents of Neo Bankside – where homes cost up to £19 million – claim it is like ‘living in a goldfish bowl’.
To add to their fury, they say videos and photos taken while they relax in their glass-fronted homes are frequently uploaded on social media and they accuse Tate Modern of turning them into ‘a public exhibit for the benefit of those using the viewing platform’, according to a writ filed in the High Court.
The five claimants say that being subject to ‘visual scrutiny’ is a breach of their human rights and want the Tate to put up a screen and pay their legal costs.
The rich residents have become one of the most popular features of Tate Modern since the tenth-floor viewing platform opened in June last year as part of a £260 million extension. The gallery attracts up to 10,000 visitors every day.
Reviewers on TripAdvisor have described it as ‘a voyeur’s dream’, with others saying: ‘The viewing gallery is great, giving perfect views into the flats next door!’
Images posted on the internet show residents sprawling on sofas, working at home and chatting on the phone. In one picture, a pet cat is clearly seen gazing out of a window.
Last year, The Mail on Sunday revealed that residents were considering legal action if the gallery failed to take action. They even called in child protection officers from Southwark Council over concerns that tourists were taking pictures of young children in the apartments.
The row escalated when one resident placed cardboard cutouts of outgoing Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota and his family in their underwear in the window of an apartment directly opposite the platform. Last night a Tate spokesman said: ‘The design of the building has always included a high-level terrace for the benefit of the public but we cannot comment further given the conditions of the legal process.’