Are mannequins and porridge really art?
THE TURNER PRIZE has never failed to baffle, irritate and inspire.
Judging by the latest bizarre entries to be shortlisted for the £25,000 controversial art prize, this year is no exception.
With unmade beds, piles of rubbish and bear suits previously on show at the competition, it's no surprise that one of this year's favourites consists of a faceless mannequin on the toilet surrounded by a load of porridge.
Sound like art to you? It is certainly intriguing key figures in the art world.
Glasgow-based artist Cathy Wilkes' conceptual art involving shop dummies has already been hailed as "very strange, poetic and complex" by the editor of art magazine Frieze, Jennifer Higgie.
Equally wacky is Mark Leckey's use of a cartoons and film shots.
The 43-year-old splices together images of the Simpsons, presents clips from the Titanic movie and confesses to an obsession with cartoon star Felix The Cat.
And have you ever thought a Gateshead multi-story car park would win prizes for artistic creativity?
Runa Islam's piece Scale 1/16 Inch = 1 Foot manipulates footage from the iconic Michael Caine film Get Carter.
***SEE INCREDIBLE PICTURES OF THE ARTISTS AND THEIR 'ART' NOW!***
All the shortlisted artists now have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Damien Hirst - famous for his formaldehyde preserved animals - and transvestite potter Grayson Perry who are both previous Turner Prize winners.
Mark Wallinger - who once dressed up in a bear suit in the name of art - was last year's winner for his replica of the one-man anti-war protest in Parliament Square.
The Turner Prize never fails to create outrage and controversy, usually throwing up the age-old question 'What is art'.
But whatever your take on mannequins, porridge and Felix The Cat, London's Tate Britain is expecting tens of thousands of visitors when the shortlisted artists exhibit their work in October.
The Turner Prize winner will be announced on December 1.
