Artist Eugenie Scrase has won BBC Two's School of Saatchi show with her tree trunk impaled on a length of fence. The 20 year old beat five finalists to win a place in super collector Charles Saatchi's exhibition Newspeak: British Art Now at the Hermitage and studio space for three years.
In School of Saatchi, a four part BBC Two talent contest, the collector (like the invisible boss in Charlie's Angels) never appeared on the show, which was fronted by a panel of four - artist Tracey Emin, critic Matthew Collings, Art Collector Frank Cohen, and Head of Art Gallery at the Barbican Kate Bush. Of the 3000 people who applied to get on the programme, 12 were left by the start of the first episode and they were whittled down to six finalists chosen for their potential to develop over a ten week period. In the manner of reality TV they were given tasks to perform, including being asked to make a life drawing of a nude woman, produce an outdoor installation for the beach at Hastings in southern England, and create a work to be displayed inside Sudley Castle. The six finalists were also given the task of creating an exhibition for one night only at London's Saatchi Gallery.
Although described as "reclusive" and "camera shy" Saatchi certainly knows how to do 'look at me' as he goes about the business of buying and selling art and scouting new talent.
Images: Eugenie Scrace's winning work and the School of Saatchi judges Matthew Collings, Tracey Emin, Frank Cohen and Kate Bush
