Money for old rope? Artwork given £1m price tag

A Turner Prize-nominated artist has launched an exhibition where the only artwork is a 10-tonne pile of discarded rope priced at £1 million.

David Shrigley spent months scouring the country for unwanted material to prove he really can get money for old rope.

All lengths gathered for the installation – from cruise liner mooring lines to slim cords used for crab and lobster pots – were treated and cleaned at Shrigley’s studio to prepare it for public exhibition.

He said: “This exhibition started with an idiom. Old rope has no use. It’s also hard to recycle, so there’s a lot of it lying around.

“I thought, what if I turn that into a literal exhibition of old rope? And then say, yes, this is art, and yes, you can buy it for £1 million.”

Exhibition Of Old Rope will run at the Stephen Friedman Gallery in London from November 13 to December 20.

Published: 13/11/2025 by Radio NewsHub