Artist to make 400 crisp butties at museum show

An artist has pledged to make and serve 400 crisp butties in one afternoon as part of his latest exhibition in his home city.

Pete McKee said he would serve up his childhood favourite for free at Weston Park Museum in Sheffield from midday on Saturday on a first-come, first-served basis.

The performance art event follows the launch of his year-long exhibition The Boy with the Leg Named Brian, which pays tribute to his 1970s childhood.

Mr McKee said: "This event is my playful take on the world of performance art that can sometimes leave unfamiliar audiences feeling baffled and undernourished."

"I had seen a couple of performance art pieces and felt mystified by their existence and what their aim was.

"So, I wanted to do a piece people could understand and take away and eat – a practical performance art piece. There's nothing finer and more noble than the crisp butty."

Mr McKee, who is known for his colourful depictions of everyday life in South Yorkshire, said he would offer up 10 different flavours of crisp butty, including his own favourite of salt and vinegar.

During the one-off event, 400 visitors will be given one of his handmade butties to eat.

He said: "My new exhibition – A Boy with a Leg Named Brian – is a very nostalgic exhibition because it's all about my childhood from the time I was a little boy to leaving school.

"Growing up on a council estate, a crisp butty is ubiquitous – it's brilliant, it's nourishing and filling. So I wanted it be part of the show."

Mr McKee is aiming to make 133 crisp butties an hour for three hours, a feat he said would leave him "frazzled".

"There will be theatre, drama, perspiration and hygiene standards, but I'm not taking any food allergies into consideration.

"It's bread, it's crisps, it's butter – if you can eat those you can have a free sandwich," he said.

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