ARTS & CULTURE
Originally published on Monday, 21 April 2008
Starstruck
"Oooh, I'm scared! I'm in labour!", mocked the father-to-be. Slumped in his NHS armchair, he asked his wife, between texts, why she didn't just take the epidural.
"Cause I'm dead 'ard," she gurned back. "Grrrr."
And so goes the birthing ritual of the reality-TV couple.
Kerry Katona may have gone into labour five weeks early (rumours of drug and alcohol consumption will do that) but she made damn sure the camera was there to capture the, erm, precious moment and sell it to MTV.
Ah the world of sleb culture. Where did we all go wrong? Posh's 1am crisis meeting, Chanelle's music vid, Cheryl's 'tough decision' and Madonna's living situation. Admit it, you probably know - by unconscious default, of course - about at least one the aforementioned.
Exploring this obsession with all things celebrity, a new exhibition at the Walsall opens this week, drawing on work from a eight artists, including fashion photographer Mario Testino and faux-paparazzi p_ss-taker Alison Jackson.
Personally, I reckon a formaldehyded sh_t in a glass box might encapsulate the phenomenon nicely. But I'm prepared to be enlightened.
Starstruck - April 24-June 15
The New Art Gallery Walsall, 2 Portland Road, W11