ARTIST BUYS £3,000 HOME SLIPPING INTO SEA . . . TO PAINT IT BEING WASHED AWAY

AN ARTIST BUYS A £3,000 HOME THAT IS SLIPPING INTO THE SEA SO THAT HE MAY PAINT IT BEING WASHED AWAY. WITH TWO BEDROOMS, A FULLY EQUIPPED KITCHEN AND SOME STUNNING VIEWS OF THE COAST, THE BUNGALOW STYLE HOUSE IS A BARGAIN AT £3,000. BUT THERE IS A REASON FOR THE UNIQUE BUY, IT WILL SOON FALL OFF THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF IT STANDS ON BECAUSE OF COASTAL EROSION. YET TO KANE CUNNINGHAM, IT IS MORE AN EVOLVING WORK OF ART THAN A CONDEMNED PROPERTY. CUNNINGHAM BOUGHT THE SEMI-DETACHED BUNGALOW TWO WEEKS AGO TO FILM AND PAINT ITS DECENT INTO THE SEA, THE ULTIMATE 'PROPERTY CRASH' AS HE SEES IT. HIS WIFE WASN'T TOO HAPPY TO DISCOVER HE HAD PUT £3,000 ON HIS CREDIT CARD JUST BEFORE CHRISTMAS, BUT CUNNINGHAM INSISTS PAYING FOR THE HOUSE IN THIS WAY WAS SYMBOLIC OF THE ECONOMIC TURMOIL OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH ERA. THE HOUSE, AT KNIPE POINT, NEAR SCARBOROUGH, WHICH WAS WORTH MORE THAN £160,000 TWO YEARS AGO, IS JUST A FEW FEET FROM THE EDGE OF THE ONGOING LANDSLIP AND COULD FALL INTO THE SEA ANYTIME. SEVERAL NEIGHBORING HOUSES HAVE ALREADY GONE OVER THE EDGE, AND CUNNINGHAM SAID THE EMPTY HOUSE NEXT DOOR HAS DEVELOPED CRACKS DURING THE LAST WEEK. HE SAID: 'IT REPRESENTS TO ME ALL SORTS OF IDEAS TO DO WITH THE CREDIT CRUNCH AND MORTGAGES AND THE ENVIRONMENT'. CUNNINGHAM, HEAD OF FINE ART AT YORKSHIRE COAST COLLEGE, WANTS MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO SEND LETTERS TO THE HOUSE, WHERE THEY WILL BE PINNED TO A WALL. HE SAID THE IDEA OF THE ADDRESS DISAPPEARING INTO THE OCEAN INSPIRED THE PROJECT'S NAME: THE LAST POST. CUNNINGHAM WILL TAKE APART THE INSIDE F THE HOUSE AND, WITH OTHER ARTISTS, WILL MAKE SCULPTURES FROM THE MATERIALS. THE WORKS WILL EVENTUALLY FALL INTO THE SEA ALONG WITH THE HOUSE. HE WILL ALSO DO A SERIES OF PAINTINGS OF THE HOUSE AND ITS SURROUNDING LANDSCAPE, AND PLANS TO PUT VIDEO CAMERAS INSIDE AND OUTSIDE TO RECORD THE DESTRUCTION AS THE HOUSE FALLS.